UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


ORGANIZED  LABOR 
IN  AMERICAN  HISTORY 


8.^ 


ORGANIZED  LABOR 
IN  AMERICAN  HISTORY 


BY 
FRANK  TRACY  CARLTON,  Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR  OF   ECONOMICS,   DE   PAUW   UNIVERSITV, 


D.   APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1920 


COPYEIGHT,    1920,   BY 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES   OP   AiTEEICA 


hi-  ^ 


TO 

THE  AMERICAN  WORKINGMAN 
A  NATION  BUILDER 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

In  the  critical  period  of  reconstruction  or  readjust- 
ment following  the  great  world  upheaval,  one  of  the 
biggest  of  the  many  big  world  problems  is  concerned 
with  the  relations  between  labor  and  capital.  It  is 
evident  that  social  and  industrial  relations  are  in  a 
state  of  flux.  Labor  organizations  have  been  through- 
out their  history  fighting  groups,  with  the  consequent 
weaknesses  and  tendencies  that  grow  out  of  opposi- 
tion and  negation.  In  the  United  States  there  are 
certain  indications  of  a  new  and  constructive  era  in 
unionism  and  in  industrial  management;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  we  may  be  on  the  threshold  of  a  period 
of  bitter  industrial  conflict.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this 
book  to  present  the  background  for  an  intelligent 
consideration  of  the  labor  problems  of  today. 

Portions  of  three  chapters  have  appeared  in  articles 
pubHshed  in  The  Survey,  The  International  Holders* 
Journal,  The  Popular  Science  Monthly  and  The 
Public.  The  writer  has  received  helpful  suggestions 
and  criticisms  from  his  formei  teacher,  Professor 
Richard  T.  Ely,  and  from  his  former  colleagues,  Pro- 
fessors P.  H.  Hembdt  and  John  Zedler.  Mr.  Q.  F. 
Walker,  formerly  one  of  his  students,  aided  him  in 
gathering  material  for  Chapter  VII. 

F.  T.  C. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    Introduction i 

II    Epochs  in  the  History  of  Organized 

Labor ii 

III  Adoption  and  Interpretation  of  the 

Constitution 45 

IV  The  Free  School  and  the  Wage  Earner      62 

V    Land  Reform  and  the  Wage  Earner  ^ .       78 

VI    Labor    Legislation    and    the    Wage 

Earner 108 

VII    Other    Reform    Movements    and   the 

Wage  Earner 144 

VIII  Labor  Parties,  Socialism,  Direct 
Action,  and  the  Progressive  Move- 
ment       169 

IX    The  Ideals  of  the  Wage  Earner       .  198 

X    Recent  Pre-war  Tendencies     .     .     .  226 

XI    The  War  and  After 282 

Index 307 


ORGANIZED    LABOR    IN 
AMERICAN   HISTORY 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION 

History  is  concerned  with  more  than  the  mere 
perfunctory  cataloguing  of  incidents;  with  more 
than  a  string  of  events  held  together  by  the  color- 
less thread  of  chronology.  It  is  no  longer  to  be 
considered  solely  as  a  record  of  sanguinary  episodes 
and  of  individual  prowess  or  debauchery.  True  his- 
tory presents  a  fascinating  picture  of  conflicting 
races,  interests,  sections  and  classes ;  it  tells  the  in- 
teresting story  of  the  struggle  of  the  masses  up- 
ward toward  equality  of  opportunity.  Historical 
science,  therefore,  is  a  study  of  cause  and  effect.  In 
the  realm  of  physics,  chemistry  or  engineering, 
changes  in  the  structure,  form  or  content  of  mate- 
rials take  place  in  consequence  of  the  application 
of  power  or  of  heat,  or  because  of  some  other  modi- 
fication in  the  conditions  affecting  the  materials. 
Likewise,  in  the  political  or  the  social  sphere,  struc- 
tures or  institutions  such  as,  for  example,  the  state. 


2  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  church,  the  family,  labor  organizations,  politi- 
cal parties  or  associations  of  employers,  are  evolved 
and  transformed  in  response  to  modifications  in 
the  physical  and  the  social  environment.  Progress, 
socially  and  politically,  is  vitally  and  intimately  con- 
nected with  changes  in  the  methods  of  doing  the 
world's  work.  As  the  means  employed  by  mem- 
bers of  society  in  getting  a  living  are  improved, 
institutions,  customs  and  social  conventions  undergo 
radical  transformations. 

It  is  quite  clear  that  the  advance  of  a  primitive 
people  from  the  hunting  or  the  pastoral  to  the 
agricultural  stage  in  human  progress  was  accom- 
panied by  revolutionary  changes  in  the  home,  indus- 
trial, military  and  social  life.  The  ideals,  customs, 
beliefs,  training,  institutions  and  organizations  of 
people  suffer  gradual,  but  inevitable  and  important, 
transformations  as  a  result  of  new  work,  new  dis- 
cipline and  new  experiences  which  exert  silent  and 
constant  pressure  upon  each  and  every  individual 
member  of  the  primitive  tribe  or  horde  concerned. 
The  progress  from  slavery  to  serfdom  and  from 
serfdom  to  the  modern  wage  system  was  preceded 
by  changes  in  the  density  of  population  and  in  in- 
dustrial methods.  Especially  within  the  last  century 
and  a  half  the  intimate  relations  between  industrial 
evolution  and  social  progress  have  been  forced  upon 
the  attention  of  all  thinkers.  The  American  people, 
and  nearly  all  others  of  the  western  hemisphere, 
have  been  transformed.    Rural  life,  isolation,  small 


INTRODUCTION  3 

scale  industry,  nonspecialized  work  have  been  re- 
placed by  city  life,  interdependence  and  cooperation, 
big  business  and  minute  subdivision  of  labor.  The 
individuals  and  nations  of  the  globe  have  been 
brought  closely  in  touch  with  each  other.  A  world 
alliance  is  no  longer  a  Utopian  dream.  The  iso- 
lated worker  has  been  replaced  by  the  unionist,  the 
small  business  firm  by  the  giant  corporation,  the  lo- 
cal by  the  world  market,  the  stage  coach  by  the 
Pullman,  and  the  sickle  by  the  harvester.  These 
kaleidoscopic  changes  in  industry  are  definitely  re- 
flected in  the  home,  social,  business  and  political 
life  of  the  nation.  In  fact,  poHtical  institutions, 
wars  and  royal  intrigues  are  but  the  visible  mani- 
festations of  underlying  and  powerful  social,  eco- 
nomic, geographic  and  racial  forces.^  History, 
therefore,  may  not  inaccurately  be  termed  the  social 
mechanics  of  the  past;  or  it  may  logically  be  called 
the  economics  of  the  past.  History  is,  indeed,  "the 
record  not  of  the  doings  of  man,  but  of  his 
progress."  The  memoirs  of  the  "not-great"  are  in 
reality  the  most  important,  but  usually  the  neglected, 
part  of  real  history. 

Organized  labor,  like  organized  capital  or  a  pcn 
litical  party,  is  a  social  phenomenon;  it  is  a  social 
institution.  The  form,  methods,  ideals  and  pur- 
poses of  labor  organizations  may  be  studied  in  the 

*  Carlton,  'The  Industrial  Factor  in  Social  Progress." 
Report  of  Committee  on  the  Place  of  Industries  in  Public 
Education,  National  Education  Association  (1910)  pp. 
8-9. 


4  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

same  manner  as  political  parties  or  fraternal  organi- 
zations may  be  analyzed.  A  union  consciously  or 
unconsciously  adopts  a  certain  peculiar  form  or 
structure  in  order  to  aid  it  in  accomplishing  certain 
aims;  and  it  accepts  certain  methods  of  procedure 
for  the  same  reason.  No  institution  would  come 
into  being  were  it  not  intended,  deliberately  or  for- 
tuitously, to  effect  certain  changes  in  the  course  of 
human  affairs.  And  no  form  of  organized  labor 
would  exist  unless  wage  workers  hoped  to  obtain 
through  its  agency  some  improvement  in  living  and 
working  conditions.  These  statements  are  little 
short  of  axiomatic.  In  fact,  as  has  been  indicated, 
both  the  structure  and  the  functions  of  a  labor  or- 
ganization or  of  any  other  social  institution  are  the 
visible  and  tangible  results  of  underlying  forces 
and  causes  which  spring  out  of  the  physical  and 
social  environment.  The  analysis  of  a  labor  organi- 
zation or  of  its  political  influence  is,  therefore,  a 
study  in  social  mechanics. 

Everybody  is  more  or  less  familiar  with  inertia 
in  everyday  life.  The  runner,  the  bicyclist,  the  au- 
tomobile driver,  the  railway  engineer,  all  must  rec- 
kon with  that  tendency  of  a  moving  body  to  continue 
moving  forward  in  a  straight  line ;  and  likewise  they 
must  not  overlook  the  resistance  of  a  stationary  ob- 
ject to  the  forces  which  endeavor  to  put  it  in  mo- 
tion. Now,  it  is  not  as  generally  understood  that 
inertia  is  also  encountered  in  the  social  and  political 
life  of  the  community.     Our  customs,  our  tradi- 


INTRODUCTION  5 

tions,  our  laws,  our  constitutions,  our  creeds  and 
our  rituals  all  constitute  forces  which  resist  change. 
The  past  ever  has  its  restraining  hand  upon  the 
present;  the  past  is  a  factor  which  must  always  be 
reckoned  with  in  a  study  of  the  present. 

In  the  great  majority  of  cases,  a  given  structure 
or  form  of  government  or  of  a  labor  organization 
more  truly  represents  a  past  than  a  present  balance 
of  forces;  and  it  is  also  a  factor  in  determining  the 
present-time  attitude  of  those  adhering  to  the  gov- 
ernment or  the  labor  organization  in  question.  After 
an  institution  has  been  developed  and  has  crystal- 
lized into  certain  forms,  this  somewhat  inelastic 
structure  usually  serves  as  a  modifying  and  con- 
serving force  or  influence.  Consequently,  group 
and  institutional  inertia  must  be  reckoned  with  in 
any  careful  study  of  social  and  institutional  forms. 
American  legal  and  constitutional  forms  have  great- 
ly modified  the  course  of  events  in  American  na- 
tional life.  The  existence  of  social  customs  and 
habits  also  tends  to  prevent  rapid  and  far-reaching 
changes  in  ideals.  The  psychology  of  the  Ameri- 
can has  undoubtedly  lagged  behind  the  unusually 
rapid  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  industry 
during  recent  generations.  The  American  working- 
men  and  other  Americans  as  well  have  been  too  in- 
dividualistic to  cope  effectively  with  the  great  and 
steadily  growing  combinations  of  capital;  to  many 
of  them  yet  cling  the  restless  and  impatient  vitality 
and  self-assurance  of  the  frontier.     The  effect  of 


6  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

social  inertia  is  also  plainly  visible  in  the  ideals,  the 
concepts  and  the  psychology  of  the  unionist.  The 
point  of  view  of  the  average  unionist  is  still  measur- 
ably affected  and  modified  by  ideals  and  concepts 
crystallized  during  the  outgrown  era  of  small  scale, 
nonintegrated  industry.  Again,  overworked  and 
undertrained  workers  will  have  a  narrower  vision 
than  more  efficient  and  better  trained  workers.  But 
the  Great  War  has  caused  American  unionists  cheer- 
fully and  loyally  to  accept  changes  which  promise 
to  undermine  the  traditional  philosophy  of  organ- 
ized labor. 

Slavery  and  serfdom  are  heritages  which  the  past 
offers  to  the  wage-earning  class  of  to-day.  The 
prevalent  idea  that  the  employee  is  a  "protege"  of 
the  employer  is  old  and  dies  hard.  Organized  labor 
is,  in  fact,  a  token  of  emancipation.  In  struggling 
upward  toward  industrial  democracy  the  workers 
are  seriously  hampered  by  the  lingering  and  still 
potent  ideas  and  ideals  developed  during  genera- 
tions of  subordination  and  of  noncitizenship.  As  a 
consequence,  the  evolution  of  the  new  social  psychol- 
ogy is  retarded  and  modified  by  the  old  and  out- 
grown folkways  as  to  the  relation  between  employers 
and  employees.  It  is  also  affected  by  survivals  in 
the  form  of  rabid  and  irrational  national  patriotism, 
racial  antagonisms  and  concepts  as  to  the  desira- 
bility of  different  forms  of  work  and  service.  The 
events  of  1914  and  19 15  conclusively  prove  that  in 
times  of  national  stress  and  danger  the  old  catch- 


INTRODUCTION  7 

words  and  phrases  are  still  powerful  and  compel- 
ling; but  in  19 1 7  and  19 18  newer  and  finer  watch- 
words, such  as  social  solidarity  and  world  democ- 
racy, were  vigorously  competing  with  the  old  and 
also  with  the  familiar  slogans  of  organized  labor. 
But  when  the  life  of  the  nation  is  no  longer  men- 
aced by  war,  the  phenomenon  of  union  loyalty  again 
bulks  large  among  the  members  of  American  labor 
organizations. 

In  the  past,  economic  life  in  America  has  been 
abnormal.  The  United  States  has  developed  closely 
in  touch  with  an  ever  westward  moving  frontier. 
This  contact  with  new  land  and  with  untouched 
natural  resources  has  reflected  a  peculiar  combina- 
tion of  light  and  shadow  into  our  national  life.  The 
activity  of  wage  earners  in  American  life  and  his- 
tory has,  therefore,  been  characterized  by  certain 
marked  peculiarities.  The  presence  of  free  land 
and  the  absence  of  European  class  demarcations  have 
furnished  a  safety  valve  which  has  in  a  large  meas- 
ure prevented  the  growth  of  class  consciousness. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  gift  of  the  ballot  gave 
the  wage  earners  of  America  early  in  our  national 
history  a  position  of  considerable  political  and  eco- 
nomic importance. 

Writers  and  speakers  of  all  shades  of  opinion 
from  extreme  radicalism  to  "safe  and  sane"  con- 
servatism are  prone  to  allude  to  the  decade  imme- 
diately preceding  the  War  as  a  transitional  era  in 
regard  to  the  relations  between  labor  and  capital 


8  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  in  regard  to  the  unrest  and  discontent  mani- 
fested by  American  wage  earners ;  but  a  more  care- 
ful and  extended  examination  of  our  national  his- 
tory reveals  many  so-called  transitional  eras  and 
epochs  of  agitation  among  the  wage  earners  of  the 
nation.  Discontent  among  members  of  the  wage- 
earning  class  and  of  the  middle  class  is  by  no  means 
confined  to  the  period  subsequent  to  the  Civil  War. 
The  wage  earners  of  the  pre-Civil  War  period  were 
also  restless  and  discontented;  they  expressed  their 
views  and  their  demands  in  terms  which  sound 
quite  similar  to  those  used  by  the  spokesmen  of 
organized  labor  to-day ;  and,  as  in  recent  years,  dis- 
content found  tangible  expression  in  agitation  and 
legislation,  actual  or  proposed. 

For  ages  the  regeneration  of  the  world  has  been 
the  goal  toward  which  religious  and  social  reform- 
ers have  struggled.  From  time  to  time  men  have 
come  forward  passionately  and  fanatically  to  pre- 
sent some  one  particular  modification  in  our  social, 
political  or  religious  mechanism  as  the  panacea  for 
all  the  ills  which  afflict  this  old  world.  Many  and 
dissimilar  Utopias,  from  Plato's  Republic  to  Bel- 
lamy's Looking  Backward  and  Upton  Sinclair's  re- 
cent venture,  have  been  promulgated  by  dreamers 
and  thinkers  of  very  different  mental  caliber  and  of 
varying  imaginative  capacity.  There  have  been 
Utopias  communistic  and  anarchistic,  Utopias  rural 
and  urban,  Utopias  of  the  simple  life  type  and  those 
employing  a  multitude  of  intricate  labor-saving,  nat- 


INTRODUCTION  9 

ural  power  utilizing  devices,  Utopias  great  and  Uto- 
pias small,  Utopias  formal  and  informal,  and  so  on 
in  an  almost  infinite  variety.  Perhaps  no  nation, 
clime  or  race  has  been  entirely  bereft  of  Utopia 
builders. 

The  United  States  has  been  favored  with  its  share 
of  reformers  of  the  single  idea  type, — the  promulga- 
tors of  Utopian  ideals.  Many  are  the  various  re- 
forms, fantastic  and  otherwise,  which  have  found  at 
least  a  handful  of  adherents  upon  American  soil; 
only  three  have  received  the  support  of  a  majority 
of  the  nation.  These  three  cure-alls — the  popular 
patent  medicines  for  the  body  politic — are  manhood 
suffrage,  universal  and  compulsory  free  public  edu- 
cation, and  free  homesteads  for  actual  settlers.  In 
these  three  movements  the  wage  earners  of  the  na- 
tion have  played  a  leading  part. 

The  birth  of  the  American  nation  is  almost  coin- 
cident with  the  Industrial  Revolution.  In  a  peculiar 
sense,  it  is  true  that  the  development  of  the  United 
States  is  dependent  upon  industrial  progress.  Con- 
sequently, in  American  history,  a  knowledge  of  the 
ideals  and  demands  of  the  wage  earner  is  an  essen- 
tial; and  it  may  confidently  be  asserted  that  the 
common  man,  the  wage  earner,  has  played  a  notable, 
but  not  spectacular,  role  in  the  political  evolution 
of  our  nation.  Organized  labor  is  to-day  an  efficient 
conservator  of  American  democracy;  the  wage- 
earning  population  is  helping  to  teach  the  American 
people  the  principles  of  democracy.     Soon  after  the 


10  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

inception  of  the  American  nation  the  wage  earner 
became  a  factor  to  reckon  with  and  a  power  capable 
of  modifying  the  course  of  events  and  the  evolution 
of  governmental  structure.  Americans  have  fre- 
quently written  concerning  the  part  which  the  West 
or  the  frontier  has  played  in  our  history;  but  it  is 
the  modest  purpose  of  this  small  volume  to  trace 
briefly  the  influence  of  the  wage  earner  in  American 
history.  The  frontier  has  had  a  gradually  dimin- 
ishing influence;  and  to-day  the  frontier  is  a  thing 
of  the  past.  On  the  contrary,  the  wage  earners'  in- 
fluence may  be  expected  to  increase  in  importance 
as  the  years  go  by. 


CHAPTER  II 

EPOCHS  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED 
LABOR 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  volume  to  dis- 
cuss in  detail  the  history  of  labor  organizations, 
of  industrial  progress  or  of  social  unrest.  In  order, 
however,  clearly  to  trace  the  political  influence  of 
the  American  workingman  it  is  necessary,  or  at 
least  desirable,  to  present  an  outline  of  the  epochs 
or  eras  in  American  industrial  and  labor  history. 
These  two  forms  of  history  are  intimately  and  in- 
dissolubly  interrelated.  The  ideals,  the  methods 
and  the  progress  of  American  labor  organizations 
reflect  quite  faithfully  changes  in  methods  of  do- 
ing business,  the  enlargement  of  the  competitive 
sphere,  alterations  in  price  levels,  modifications  in 
the  standards  of  living,  and  in  the  attitude  and  or- 
ganization of  employers.^  As  different  industries 
pass  through  the  various  stages  of  industrial  evolu» 
tion  at  different  epochs,  so  sundry  labor  organiza-- 
tions  adopt  different  methods  at  different  periods 
in  their  history.  In  discussing  the  epochs  or  periods 
in  the  industrial  history  of  the  United  States,  it 

*  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor, 
c.  I. 

IX 


12  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

should  be  borne  in  mind  that  some  industries  and 
certain  labor  organizations  lag  behind  or  precede 
the  general  industrial  movements  of  the  period  un- 
der consideration. 

A  study  of  the  history  of  labor  organizations  in 
this  country  warrants  the  following  brief  generali- 
zations in  regard  to  tendencies.  A  period  of  pros- 
perity tends  to  increase  the  numbers  and  the  strength 
of  organized  labor.  The  workers  combine  in  order 
to  share  in  the  benefits  of  improved  business  condi- 
tions and  to  obtain  a  shorter  working  day  and  other 
advantages.  At  such  a  time  both  political  and  direct 
methods,  involving  the  use  of  such  union  weapons 
as  the  strike  and  the  boycott,  are  usually  resorted 
to.  In  a  period  in  which  prices  of  the  necessities 
of  life  are  rapidly  rising,  labor  organizations  tend 
to  adopt  direct  (nonpolitical)  methods, — as,  for  ex- 
ample, in  1833-1837,  during  the  Civil  War,  and  in 
recent  years.  When  the  price  level  rises  rapidly  po- 
litical action  is  too  slow,  and  its  effects  are  too  un- 
certain aiid  too  indirect.  Consequently,  immediate 
results  are  demanded  in  the  face  of  the  higher  cost 
of  living.  In  periods  of  depression,  labor  organiza- 
tions almost  invariably  suffer  losses. 

The  above-mentioned  points  relate  only  to  tenden- 
cies. Other  forces  may  be  at  work  at  the  same  time 
which  neutralize,  overcome  or  obscure  these  ten- 
dencies. For  example,  the  forties  and  the  early  fif- 
ties marked  a  period  of  prosperity;  but  during  that 
time  labor  organizations  were  weak — due  in  a  large 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR        13 

measure  as  is  indicated  elsewhere  to  the  rapid  de- 
velopment of  facilities  to  get  to  western  land.  In 
recent  years — since  about  1898 — the  bitter  opposi- 
tion manifested  by  certain  large  employers  and  asso- 
ciations of  business  men  toward  unions  has  been  a 
potent  factor  in  retarding  the  growth  of  organized 
labor  in  the  United  States. 

Again,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  unions  may 
be  affected  differently  by  similar  complexes  of  cir- 
cumstances and  conditions.  Some  unions  may  lose 
in  membership  during  a  period  of  prosperity,  while 
others  may  gain  in  a  time  of  depression.  No  two 
types  of  workers  have  been  subjected  to  exactly  the 
same  economic  pressure,  the  relations  between  work- 
ers and  the.r  employers  vary  greatly  in  different  lines 
of  business,  the  possibility  of  displacement  by  other 
workers  or  by  machines  likewise  changes  from  trade 
to  trade  and  from  occupation  to  occupation,  and 
finally  price  levels  and  standards  of  living  are  sub- 
ject to  rapid  modifications.  This  exceedingly  com- 
plex situation  is  further  complicated  by  the  institu- 
tional lag  or  inertia  exhibited  by  organizations  of 
labor.  The  influence,  conservative  or  radical,  of 
the  capable  and  aggressive  leuder  must  not  be  neg- 
lected. Samuel  Gompers,  for  example,  is  a  factor 
who  cannot  be  o^■erIookcd  in  any  careful  considera- 
tion of  the  evolution  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor.  The  autocratic  and  imperious  leader  has 
played  an  important  role  in  labor  organizations  as 
well  as  in  the  affairs  of  nations.    The  appeal  to  the 


14  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

passions  and  emotions  figures  in  union  matters  as 
well  as  in  party  politics.^ 

To  outline  significant  epochs  in  the  history  of 
labor  organizations — epochs  which  possess  real 
points  of  difference — is  difficult.  Understanding 
that  the  lines  of  demarcation  are  not  in  all  cases 
clean  cut,  the  following  seven  epochs  in  American 
labor  history  are  presented  in  order  to  assist  in  un- 
derstanding the  political  influence  of  the  working- 
man  in  the  United  States: 

1.  Before  1825.  This  period,  covering  the  his- 
tory of  the  colonies  and  of  the  first  half  century 
after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  is  our  pre- 
factory  stage  of  industrial  development.  Labor  or- 
ganizations are  found  only  in  the  latter  portion  of 
this  period ;  and  these  consisted  only  of  a  few  local 
and  temporary  trade  societies. 

2.  1825-1837.  The  American  factory  system 
finds  its  beginning  in  this  short  interval.  The  sec- 
ond epoch  is  one  of  extraordinary  and  premature 
organization  of  labor. 

3.  1838-1857.     The  period  of  humanitarianism. 

4.  1859-1873,    The  Civil  War  period. 

5.  1876-1895,  This  epoch  is  characterized  by  the 
enlargement  of  the  business  unit,  unusual  middle 
class  agitation,  the  rise  and  decline  of  the  Knights 
of  Labor,  and  the  birth  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor. 

"Carlton,  "Essentials  in  the  Study  of  Labor  Organiza- 
tions."   The  Scientific  Monthly,  August,  191 6. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR        15 

6.  1896-1914.  The  early  years  of  this  period  con- 
stituted the  era  of  the  "trust"  and  of  trade  or  craft 
unionism.  The  American  Federation  adopted  a 
fairly  definite  political  program  in  1906  which  in 
more  recent  years  it  is  beginning  to  repudiate;  and 
employers'  associations  of  the  anti-union  type  in- 
creased in  strength  during  this  epoch. 

7.  1914  .     The  Present.     It  is  worthy  of 

notice  that  the  first  five  epochs  are  terminated  by 
periods  of  depression.  The  remainder  of  this  chap- 
ter is  an  attempt  to  fill  in  the  outlines  of  these 
seven  epochs;  and,  in  fact,  the  remaining  chapters 
of  the  book  deal  with  the  labor  movements  and  de- 
mands of  the  different  historical  intervals  here  out- 
lined. 

The  occupation  of  the  typical  American  colonist 
was  farming;  and  each  farmer  in  the  North  was 
also  a  crude  mechanic.  He  made  many  of  the  im- 
plements and  tools  needed  upon  the  farm;  and  he 
constructed  the  furniture  used  in  the  home.  The 
clothing  and  the  boots  and  shoes  worn  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  family  were  their  own  handiwork.  The 
manual  laborers  of  the  period  were  divided  into 
three  classes :  wage  earners,  indentured  servants, 
and  slaves.  Scarcity  of  labor  led  farmers  to  resort 
to  the  method  of  exchanging  work, — in  harvesting, 
house  and  barn  raisings,  and  the  like.  The  demand 
for  labor  also  stimulated  the  kidnaping  of  whites 
to  be  bound  out  as  indentured  servants  after  a  voy- 
age across  the  Atlantic ;  and  for  like  reasons  Negroes 


i6  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

were  imported  as  slaves.  The  poor  immigrant  was 
indentured  or  forced  to  become  a  wage  earner  or 
a  tenant.  The  ownership  of  the  best  land  was  ob- 
tained by  a  few;  and  the  ownership  of  the  best 
land  carried  with  it  the  control  of  the  chief  oppor- 
tunities for  obtaining  wealth.  Early  uprisings,  like 
Bacon's  Rebellion,  were  protests  against  the  direc- 
tion of  colonial  affairs  by  a  wealthy  landowning  or 
commercial  oligarchy.  The  landowners  and  the 
merchants  were  in  control  of  the  colonial  political 
machinery. 

In  Colonial  New  England,  the  oligarchy  of  Puri- 
tans minutely  regulated  the  private  and  public  life 
of  all  members.  The  wage  earner  and  the  inden- 
tured servant  were  there,  as  elsewhere  in  the  colo- 
nies, denied  political  rights  and  privileges ;  but  they 
were  obliged  to  submit  to  rigorous  regulation.  Many 
were  the  attempts  legally  to  fix  the  wages  of  arti- 
sans ;  and  it  was  not  uncommon  in  the  early  history 
of  Massachusetts  Colony  to  impress  labor  when 
needed,  "In  the  harvest  time,  artificers  and  me- 
chanics, compelled  by  the  constable,  must  leave  their 
crafts,  unless  they  had  harvesting  of  their  own,  and 
betake  themselves  to  the  fields  of  their  neighbors 
needing  them."  ^  In  such  cases,  the  wages  to  be 
paid  were  fixed  by  law.  This  service  was  forced 
like  military  service,  and  was  considered  necessary 
for  the  welfare  of  the  community.     There  was 

'  Weeden,  Economic  and  Social  History  of  New  Eng~ 
land,  vol.  I,  p.  82. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR        17 

much  opposition  "among  the  master  workmen  and 
the  better  class  of  common  laborers  against  the 
arbitrary  wages  decreed  by  courts."  * 

The  colonial  governments  of  Massachusetts,  Ply- 
mouth and  Connecticut  were  not  democratic  in  the 
modern  sense  of  the  term.  The  various  and  inter- 
esting governmental  controversies  in  those  colonies 
which  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  form  of  rep- 
resentative government  were  chiefly  between  two 
classes,  the  gentlemen — propertied  or  learned  men— 
and  the  skilled  mechanics  and  small  freeholders. 
The  great  mass  of  wage  earners  and  the  indentured 
servants  were  outside  the  pale  of  political  rights. 
Indeed,  the  rights  of  the  common  man  did  not  re- 
ceive definite  recognition  in  America  until  the  rise 
of  Jacksonian  democracy. 

The  American  colonists  were  pushed  into  the 
War  of  the  Revolution  by  a  well  organized  and  co- 
herent minority.  Excepting  Virginia,  the  typical 
leader  of  the  patriots  was  a  member  of  the  middle 
class.  Until  stirred  by  energetic  leaders  or  menaced 
by  hostile  armies,  the  great  mass  of  the  common 
people  did  not  exhibit  enthusiastic  opposition  to 
Great  Britain.  It  is  also  true  that  the  separation 
from  England  did  not  materially  change  the  condi- 
tion or  status  of  the  mass  of  workingmen.  During 
the  revolutionary  period,  at  the  time  when  free- 
dom was  a  familiar  watchword,  the  hours  of  work 

*  Wright,  Industrial  Evolution  of  the  United  States, 
p.  114. 


l8  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

for  wage  earners  were  excessive  and  their  wages 
low.  At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  while 
the  poor  were  hard-pressed,  facing  lawsuits,  the 
coming  of  the  sheriff  and  the  debtors'  prison,  men 
engaged  in  trade  were  making  large  profits.  Labor 
was  cheap,  trade  unions  were  not  yet  in  existence, 
and  profits  were  large.'^ 

Before  1825,  a  few  local  and  short-lived  labor 
societies  were  organized.  As  early  as  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  general  meetings  of  the  print- 
ers in  a  town  were  called  from  time  to  time  for  the 
purpose  of  discussing  matters  relating  to  the  trade. 
In  the  last  decade  of  the  century,  at  least  two  at- 
tempts were  made  in  New  York  City  to  form  a 
union  of  printers.  The  second  organization  held 
together  for  about  five  years;  it  prepared  and  ob- 
tained the  adoption  of  a  complete  wage  scale.  The 
tailors  of  Baltimore  were  temporarily  organized 
in  1795. 

In  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  many 
benevolent  societies  composed  of  workingmen  came 
into  being.  The  cord wainers — shoemakers — of  New 
York  City  and  of  Philadelphia  were  fairly  well  or- 
ganized; and,  in  both  cities,  the  members  of  this 
labor  organization  were  fined  for  conspiracy  to 
raise  wages.  In  18 15,  the  cord  wainers  of  Pitts- 
burgh were  also  penalized  for  a  conspiracy  to  raise 

*  See  Weeden,  Economic  and  Social  History  of  New 
England,  vol.  2,  p.  825;  Myers,  History  of  Great  Amer- 
ican Fortunes,  vol.  i,  p.  61;  Adams  and  Sumner,  Labor 
Problems,  pp.  506-508. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR        19 

wages  and  to  prevent  nonunionists  from  working 
with  union  cordwainers.  The  reporter  of  the  case 
in  his  "Preface"  made  the  following  interesting  ob- 
servations. "The  verdict  of  this  jury  is  most  im- 
portant to  the  manufacturing  interests  of  the  com- 
munity; it  puts  an  end  to  those  associations  which 
have  been  so  prejudicial  to  the  successful  enterprise 
of  the  capitalists  of  the  western  county.  But  this 
case  is  not  important  to  this  county  alone ;  it  proves 
beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  that  notwithstand- 
ing the  adjudications  in  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia, there  still  exist  in  those  cities  combinations 
which  extend  their  deleterious  influence  to  every 
part  of  the  union."  ®  The  New  York  Typographical 
Societ}'-  held  together  from  1809  to  18 18.  In  18 19, 
a  newspaper  referred  to  the  "habit  of  association 
among  the  workingmen  to  enhance  the  price  of 
labor." 

The  reason  assigned  for  the  organization  of  the 
printers  of  New  York  City  in  1809  is  significant. 
"Progression  distinguished  the  opening  decade  of 
the  nineteentii  century  in  America,  .  .  .  Vast  im- 
provements had  taken  place  in  agriculture,  com- 
merce, manufactures  and  the  useful  arts.  .  .  .  These 
improved  conditions  had  wrought  a  change  in  the 
mode  of  living.  The  standard  had  gradually  in- 
creased. Enlarging  needs  of  the  producers  de- 
manded a  greater  return  for  their  labor.     Printers 

*  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  So' 
ciety,  vol.  4,  pp.  16-17. 


20  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

were  especially  alive  to  their  requirements,  and  felt 
that  the  wage  scale  which  had  been  handed  down 
by  the  association  that  had  lapsed  in  1804  was  in- 
adequate to  meet  the  exactions  of  the  period."  "^ 

By  1825,  after  the  young  nation  had  practically 
recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  panic  of  18 19,  the 
local  trade  societies  began  to  assume  greater  im- 
portance ;  and  the  second  epoch  in  the  history  of  or- 
ganized labor  in  America  opened.  Two  years  later, 
the  first  city  federation  of  the  various  trade  societies 
in  a  city,  called  at  that  time  a  trades'  union,  was 
organized  in  Philadelphia.  From  1827  to  1831, 
political  agitation  was  the  favorite  form  of  expres- 
sion; and  the  trades'  unions  fostered  workingmen's 
parties  in  the  cities  of  New  York,  Philadelphia  and 
Boston.  But  these  parties  were  soon  shattered ;  and 
for  three  or  four  years  events  moved  slowly.® 

The  end  of  the  sec6nd  period  witnessed  the  most 
spectacular  and  illuminating  episode  yet  recorded 
in  the  history  of  American  labor  organizations.  The 
three  or  four  years  immediately  preceding  the  severe 
panic  of  1837  are  very  instructive  to  the  student  of 
labor  organizations.  During  this  short  space  of 
time  the  craftsmen  of  the  towns  and  cities  of  the 
coast  states  passed  from  a  condition  of  weak  organi- 
zation to  a  fairly  well  coordinated  system  of  labor 
unions  culminating  in  a  national  federation.    Prices 

^History  of  Typographical  Union,  No.  6,  p.  41. 
'  Carlton,    "The    Workingmen's    Party    of    New    York 
City."    Political  Science  Quarterly,  1907,  vol.  22,  p.  401. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR       21 

and  the  cost  of  living  went  up  like  a  rocket.  Wheat 
flour  rose  in  New  York  City  from  $5  a  barrel  in 
1834  to  $12  in  March,  1837;  in  Baltimore  from 
$6.75  on  June  4,  1836,  to  $10.50  on  December  17 
of  the  same  year.  Edward  Atkinson  estimated  that 
the  cost  of  living  to  the  average  workingman  rose 
66  per  cent  from  April,  1834,  to  October,  1836.' 
The  upward  sweep  came  so  quickly  that  the  worker 
could  not  utilize  the  famous  American  safety  valve 
and  escape  to  the  westward  moving  frontier.  Or- 
ganization, using  the  direct  methods  of  the  strike 
and  the  boycott,  was  the  only  practicable  way  of 
coping  with  the  upward  moving  cost  of  living.  Po- 
litical action,  as  has  been  indicated,  was  altogether 
too  slow.  Local  unions,  city  federations,  national 
trade  unions  and  the  first  national  federation  of 
labor,  the  National  Trades'  Union,  all  appeared  with 
almost  magical  rapidity. 

The  percentage  of  the  total  number  of  American 
urban  wage  earners  organized  in  1835  and  1836  has 
probably  never  as  yet  been  exceeded.  A  New  York 
newspaper  stated  in  1836  that  "it  is  a  low  calculation 
when  we  estimate  that  two-thirds  of  the  working- 
men  in  the  city  numbering  several  thousand  persons" 
are  members  of  labor  organizations.  Employers' 
associations  were  also  formed.  Picketing,  the  os- 
tracism of  scabs,  the  open  shop  problem  and  juris- 
dictional difficulties  were  all  pushed  to  the  front. 

"Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor, 
P-  34- 


22  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

In  less  than  half  a  decade,  unionism  ran  the  entire 
scale  from  weakness  to  over-organization;  and, 
then,  this  hot-house,  ephemeral  growth  of  unionism 
vanished  completely  in  the  chaos  of  the  panic  of 

1837. 

The  second  era  witnessed  the  infancy  of  the  fac- 
tory system  and  also  the  rapid  rise  of  the  mill  town. 
The  evils  of  city  and  of  factory  life  quickly  made 
their  appearance.  Agitation  could  easily  be  carried 
on  in  the  mill  town.  The  wage  earners  were  rest- 
less; and  could  be  easily  brought  together  in  mass 
meetings.  They  demanded  free  schools,  shorter 
working  hours,  and  a  long  list  of  other  items.  In 
1832,  the  workingmen  complained  that  the  "detest- 
able Combination  of  Merchants  in  Boston  pledged 
themselves  on  the  i8th  of  May  last  to  drive  to  star- 
vation or  submission  the  Shipwrights,  Caulkers,  and 
Gravers  of  the  City."  Seth  Luther,  the  leading  labor 
agitator  of  the  early  thirties,  declared  that  women 
were  sometimes  whipped  to  drive  them  to  greater 
exertion  in  the  mills.  In  an  address  to  a  labor  so- 
ciety in  1835,  it  was  asserted  that,  "already  has 
grasping  avarice  and  monopoly  shorn  us  of  many 
of  our  rights,  already  has  aristocracy  reared  its  hide- 
ous form  in  our  country,  and  is  making  rapid  strides 
toward  enslaving  us  forever."  In  1833,  the  work- 
ing people  of  Manayunk,  Pennsylvania,  in  an  ad- 
dress to  the  public  objected  to  the  thirteen-hour  day, 
opposed  attempts  to  reduce  wages,  and  complained 
of  insufficient  wages  and  of  the  treatment  of  child 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR       23 

laborers,^**  The  Philadelphia  cabinet  makers  in 
1834  in  their  struggle  for  better  wages  were  involved 
in  "lawsuits,  harassing  and  ruinous  in  their  ef- 
fects." " 

The  recent  agitation  in  regard  to  the  low  wages 
paid  women  workers  has  attracted  much  attention 
and  has  been  given  a  large  amount  of  publicity 
through  the  newspapers ;  but  it  is  not  the  first  agita- 
tion of  its  kind  in  the  United  States.  Perhaps  the 
first  American  crusade  against  low  wages  was  car- 
ried on  by  Mathew  Carey,  a  Philadelphia  publisher, 
from  1828  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1839.  .  In 
1830,  Carey  estimated  there  were  between  18,000 
and  20,000  "working  women"  in  the  four  cities  of 
New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore. 
"At  least  12,000  of  these,"  he  said,  "could  not  earn 
by  constant  employment  for  16  hours  out  of  the  24, 
more  than  $1.25  per  week."  Because  of  the  recent 
discussions  in  regard  to  the  relation  between  low 
wages  and  prostitution,  it  is  interesting  to  learn  that 
Mathew  Carey  offered  a  prize,  valued  at  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  for  the  best  essay  "on  the  inadequacy 
of  the  wages  generally  paid  to  seamstresses,  spool- 
ers, spinners,  shoe  binders,  etc.,  to  procure  food, 
raiment,  and  lodging;  on  the  effects  of  that  inade- 

"  Mangold,  The  Labor  Argument  in  American  PrO' 
tective  Tariff  Discussions,  Bulletin  of  the  University  of 
Wisconsin,  p.  74. 

"Deibler,  The  Amalgamated  Wood  Worker/  Inter^ 
national  Union.  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin, p.  42. 


24  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

quacy  upon  the  happiness  and  morals  of  those  fe- 
males and  their  families,  when  they  have  any;  and 
on  the  probability  that  those  low  wages  frequently 
force  poor  women  to  the  choice  between  dishonor 
and  absolute  want  of  common  necessities."  This 
prize  was  won  by  a  well-known  social  worker  of 
that  period,  Rev.  Joseph  Tuckerman. 

Many  were  the  remedies  proposed  by  Carey,  but 
he  does  not  seem  to  have  considered  the  organiza- 
tion of  trade  unions,  or  the  interference  by  gov- 
ernmental authority.  Considerable  weight  was 
placed  upon  the  altruism  of  the  employer.  A  com- 
mittee appointed  at  one  of  the  meetings  called  by 
Carey,  believed  that  a  complete  remedy  for  the  con- 
ditions in  the  sweated  industries  of  the  time  was 
impracticable,  but  mitigation  was  possible.  "The 
mitigation  must  wholly  depend  on  the  humanity  and 
the  sense  of  justice  of  those  by  whom  they  are  em- 
ployed, who,  for  the  honor  of  human  nature,  it  is 
to  be  supposed,  have  not  been  aware  of  the  fact, 
that  the  wages  they  have  been  paying  w^ere  inade- 
quate to  the  purchase  of  food,  raiment,  and  lodging; 
and  who,  now  that  the  real  state  of  the  case  is  made 
manifest,  ^\n\\  probably,  as  they  certainly  ought  to, 
increase  those  wages."  Carey  received  little  aid  in 
his  efforts  to  benefit  the  poor  women  wage  earners. 
The  public  was  indifferent  and  could  not  be  aroused 
as  it  has  been  in  recent  years.  He  complained  in 
1830  that  he  had  not  "been  able  to  secure  in  New 
York,  Boston,  or  Philadelphia,  one  active,  efficient. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR        25 

zealous,  ardent  cooperator."  In  1833,  Carey  issued 
a  fruitless  "Appeal  to  the  Wealthy  of  the  Land, 
Ladies  as  Well  as  Gentlemen."  ^^  This  was,  of 
course,  a  middle  class  movement. 

The  first  American  factories  were  textile  facto- 
ries; and  in  these  early  factories  appeared  many  of 
the  phenomena  with  which  men  and  women  of  re- 
cent decades  have  been  made  familiar, — women  and 
child  labor  outside  the  home,  paternalism,  the  com- 
pany store,  the  blacklist,  the  strike,  the  street  parade 
of  striking  workers.  An  industrial  feudalism  of  a 
high  type  was  developed  by  the  proprietors  of  the 
New  England  textile  factories  of  the  thirties  and 
forties.  The  great  majority  of  the  workers  in  fac- 
tories were  female.  As  early  as  1822,  a  textile 
factory  near  Baltimore  exhibited  many  of  the  char- 
acteristics which  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century 
later  made  Pullman  famous.  The  company  pro- 
vided a  school,  a  church,  dwellings,  and  a  company 
store  for  the  use  of  its  employees. 

The  New  England  mill  operators  often  sent  "run- 
ners" or  "drummers"  to  the  rural  districts  at  con- 
siderable distance  from  the  mills,  in  order  to  ^et 
girl  workers  for  their  factories.  The  unmarried 
female  employees  were  expected  to  board  at  the 
company  boarding-houses;  and  these  houses  were 
owned  and  regulated  by  the  company ;  even  the  price 
of  board  was  fixed  by  the  mill  owners.    Among  the 

**  Report  on  Condition  of  Woman  and  Child  Wage 
Earners  in  the  United  States,  vol.  9,  pp.  123-133. 


26  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

rules  formulated  by  the  Hamilton  Manufacturing 
Company,  of  Lowell  (1848)  are  the  following: 
Without  special  permission  from  the  company,  only 
employees  may  be  boarded ;  the  doors  must  be  closed 
at  ten  p.m.  ;  keepers  must  report  the  names  of  board- 
ers not  attending  public  worship;  the  sidewalks  in 
front  of  the  houses  must  be  kept  free  from  snow, 
or  the  company  will  clear  the  walk  and  charge  the 
expense  to  the  keeper.  The  employees  frequently 
complained  of  the  crowded  conditions  in  these  com- 
pany boarding-houses.  Among  the  factory  rules  of 
the  same  company  were  the  following :  Two  weeks* 
notice  of  leaving  employment  must  be  given;  all 
contracts  are  considered  to  be  for  one  year;  and 
each  employee  must  attend  public  worship  on  Sun- 
day.^ ^  In  some  cases  if  an  employee  left  the  em- 
ploy of  the  company  in  less  than  one  year,  a  "reg- 
ular discharge"  was  not  granted ;  or,  in  other  words, 
he  was  blacklisted.^*  Certain  corporations  in  recent 
years  have  followed  a  similar  policy  in  regard  to 
"undesirable"  employees. 

In  the  forties,  the  company  store  was  by  no  means 
uncommon.  The  following  interesting  notice  was 
posted  in  the  "Crompton  Mills"  in  1843  •  "Notice — 
Those  employed  at  these  mills  and  works  will  take 
notice,  that  a  store  is  kept  for  their  accommoda- 

"  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society, 
voL  7,  pp.  135-141. 

**  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society, 
vol.  8,  pp.  153-154.  Also,  Report  on  Condition  of  Woman 
and  Child  Wage  Earners,  vol.  10,  p.  24. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR       27 

tion,  where  they  can  purchase  the  best  of  goods  at 
fair  prices,  and  it  is  expected  that  all  will  draw 
goods  from  said  store.  Those  who  do  not  are  in- 
formed that  there  are  plenty  of  others  who  would 
be  glad  to  take  their  place  at  less  wages."  ^^  The 
so-called  "iron-clad  oath"  was  also  utilized:  "We 
also  agree  not  to  be  engaged  in  any  combination 
whereby  the  work  may  be  impeded  or  the  company's 
interest  in  any  work  injured;  if  we  do,  we  agree 
to  forfeit  to-  the  use  of  the  company  the  amount  of 
wages  that  may  be  due  us  at  the  time."  ^® 

The  paternalism  of  the  mill  owners  was  by  no 
means  entirely  agreeable  to  the  young  women  em- 
ployees. The  editor  of  the  Lynn  Record  (1836)' 
stated  their  case.  "These  ladies  have  been  imposed 
upon  egregiously  by  the  aristocratic  and  offensive 
employers,  assuming  to  be  their  lords  and  masters 
and  dictating  to  them  not  only  what  they  shall  eat 
and  drink  and  wherewithal  they  shall  be  clothed, 
but  when  they  shall  eat,  drink  and  sleep,  and  how 
much  they  shall  pay  for  it."  As  a  consequence,  the 
girls  adopted  resolutions  complaining  of  the  "yoke 
which  has  been  prepared  for  us."  ^'^ 

JThe  third  epoch-cannot  accurately  be  called  a 
period  in  the  history  of  unionism.    The  labor  move- 

^  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society, 
vol.  7,  p.  50. 

"Report  on  Condition  of  Woman  and  Child  Wage 
Earners,  vol.  10,  p.  25. 

^''Report  on  Condition  of  Woman  and  Child  Wage 
Earners,  vol.  10,  p.  30. 


28  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ment  is  in  a  large  degree  absorbed  in  others  of  this 
interesting  historical  interval.  The  decade  of  the 
forties  and  the  first  half  of  the  fifties  are  noted  for 
humanitarian  movements  of  many  varieties.  The 
labor  movement  of  this  period  is  of  the  reform  type; 
it  savors  little  of  "pure  and  simple"  trade  unionism, 
— that  is,  few  labor  organizations  of  this  epoch  con- 
sisted only  of  wage  earners  and  exhibited  definite 
manifestations  of  class  consciousness.  A  galaxy  of 
movements  ranging  from  transcendentalism  to 
Fourierism  and  Mormonism,  and  from  abolitionism 
to  Graham-breadism  and  mesmerism,  are  placed  in 
the  foreground.  This  era  of  approximately  fifteen 
years  was  a  unique  interval  in  our  labor  history.  The 
decade  of  the  thirties  and  that  of  the  sixties  pre- 
sent more  of  true  unionism  than  do  the  forties  and 
fifties.  Yet,  industrial  progress  continued  at  a 
rapid  pace;  there  was  no  backward  step  until  the 
panic  year  of  1857. 

The  reason  for  this  break  in  the  history  of 
American  trade  unionism  evidently  must  be  found 
in  connection  with  the  economic  conditions  of  the 
period.  The  rapid  development  of  railways  at  this 
time  made  it  increasingly  easy  for  workers  to  go 
from  the  East  to  the  farm  lands  of  the  rapidly 
growing  West,  The  discovery  of  gold  in  Califor- 
nia also  stimulated  westward  migration.  The 
restless  and  daring  men  who  would  have  been  the 
leaders  of  the  wage  earners  under  other  condi- 
tions, moved  in  a  stream  toward  the  setting  sun. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR       29 

The  existence  of  this  unique  safety  valve  caused 
the  hiatus  in  the  history  of  labor  organizations  in 
the  United  States.  The  immigrants  who  came  to 
fill  the  places  of  the  westward  moving  Americans 
did  not  at  first  prove  to  be  good  material  for  or- 
ganization; and  many  of  the  leaders  among  the 
German- American  workingmen  of  the  period  were 
champions  of  cooperation  and  of  communistic 
schemes.  While  unionism  of  the  pure  and  simple 
type  appears  in  sporadic  instances  in  the  forties  and 
fifties,  the  opportunity  easily  to  get  western  land, 
the  development  of  railways  which  made  the  west- 
ward movement  comparatively  easy,  and  the  firm 
belief  that  a  free  and  inalienable  homestead  for  each 
and  every  family  would  solve  the  labor  problem  and 
keep  up  wages  in  the  East,  prevented  the  growth 
of  strong  and  stable  unionism. 

In  one  of  the  well-known  textbooks  on  the  in- 
dustrial history  of  the  United  States  is  found  the 
following  characterization  of  the  twenty  years  be- 
tween the  panics  of  1837  and  1857.  This  interval 
of  a  score  of  years  "witnessed  the  most  remark- 
able industrial  development  yet  achieved  in  the 
United  States.  The  wealth  of  the  country  was 
quadrupled  in  this  'golden  age.'  Riches  multiplied 
more  rapidly  than  population.  Our  per  capita 
wealth  in  i860  was  more  than  double  that  of  1840, 
more  than  three  times  that  of  1790."^^     Neverthe- 

"Coman,  Industrial  History  of  the  United  States  (new 
led.),  p.  232. 


30  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

less,  this  "golden  era,"  this  epoch  of  reformism  and 
of  "hot  air"  was  one  of  restlessness  for  the  work- 
ers of  the  country;  and  wages  were  by  no  means 
high. 

The  "highest  average"  wage  paid  in  1850  in  any 
state  to  male  employees  in  wrought  iron  works,  cot- 
ton factories  or  woolen  factories  was  less  than  $1.30 
per  day.  According  to  the  Census  for  1850,  the 
average  wage  for  all  states  paid  to  male  factory 
employees  was  only  sixty-five  cents  per  day.  Fe- 
male workers  received  much  less.^*  In  1852,  ac- 
cording to  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  "there  are 
many  journeymen  shoemakers  now  employed  on 
ordinary  work,  twelve  to  fifteen  hours  a  day,  who 
earn  less  than  fifty  cents  a  day."  The  New  York 
Tribune  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  there 
were  in  1847  about  10,000  seamstresses  in  New 
York  City.  Those  working  on  "common  white 
shirts"  received  six  cents  each  and  earned  from 
$0.75  to  $1.12^  per  week.  Cap  makers  were  re- 
ported to  work  for  a  meager  wage  fifteen  to  eigh- 
teen hours  per  day.  About  3,000  girls  employed  in 
"bookfolding"  received  about  $2.00  to  $2.50  per 
week,-° 

The  facts  in  regard  to  wages  and  living  condi- 
tions before  the  Civil  War  are  very  difficult  to  es- 
tablish. The  data  are  fragmentary.  Again,  much 
of  the  information  as  to  wages  is  colored  and  local, 

^'See  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  vol.  26,  p.  384. 
*"  Quoted  in  Herald  of  Truth,  1847,  PP-  iiS""?- 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR        31 

or  combined  unv/isely.  Writers  favoring  the  work- 
ers have  felt  the  necessity  of  drawing  a  dark  and 
repelling  picture,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
friends  of  manufacture  only  noticed  the  most  fa- 
vorable conditions.  It  seems,  however,  fairly  well 
established  that  both  money  and  real  wages  have 
on  the  whole  increased  since  that  time,  and  the 
average  number  of  hours  of  daily  toil  have  de- 
creased. But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  intensity  of 
the  exertion  of  the  average  industrial  worker  and 
the  nervous  strain  to  which  he  is  subjected  have 
increased  many  fold.^^ 

The  Civil  War  marks  a  very  distinct  period  in 
our  industrial  history.  Without  much  exaggera- 
tion, it  may  be  said  to  have  ushered  in  a  second  in- 
dustrial revolution  in .  the  United  States.  In  the 
decade  of  the  fifties  are  to  be  found  the  foreshad- 
owings  of  the  big  centralized  industry  of  recent 
decades.  This  movement  was  most  pronounced  in 
the  telegraph  and  transportation  business.^^  In  the 
same  decade  many  signs  of  the  permanent  organ- 
ization of  workingmen  may  be  discerned.  The 
large  scale  industry  of  to-day  traces  its  origin  back 
to  and  even  beyond  the  Civil  War;  and  permanent 
and    strong    organizations    of    workingmen    have 

*  For  further  data  see  Carlton,  "Discontent,  Wages  and 
Living  Conditions,  1800-1860."  International  Molder/ 
Journal,  March,  1916. 

"  Fite,  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  during  the 
Civil   War,  c.  6. 


2,2  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

evolved  alongside  of  combinations  of  capital. 
Nevertheless,  the  War  greatly  accelerated  both 
movements.  The  swiftly  rising  prices  of  the  war 
period,  as  in  the  thirties,  pinched  the  workers  and 
again  caused  rapid  progress  in  organizing  the  work- 
ers into  unions.  The  great  national  crisis  closed 
the  careers  of  many  picturesque  reform  movements 
of  the  two  decades  immediately  preceding  the  fir- 
ing on  Fort  Sumter.  The  attention  of  the  nation 
was  centered  upon  the  War,  and  after  its  close  upon 
the  Reconstruction  and  the  many  financial  prob- 
lems which  came  as  the  disagreeable  aftermath  of 
internal  strife. 

While  the  War  was  in  progress  both  prices  and 
wages  rose  rapidly;  but  the  former  outstripped  the 
latter.  According  to  the  Aldrich  Report,  real 
wages,  or  wages  measured  in  terms  of  commodi- 
ties consumed,  declined  during  the  War  in  the  fol- 
lowing ratios:  1861,  100;  1862,  87;  1863,  74;  1864, 
66;  1865,  66;  1866,  79.  Unrest  as  well  as  organ- 
ization inevitably  appeared;  and  the  great  labor 
leader  of  the  sixties,  William  H.  Sylvis,  saw  "a 
money  aristocracy — proud,  imperious,  and  dishon- 
est." Even  at  this  time  workingmen  were  begin- 
ning to  feel  that  there  was  little  opportunity  for 
them  to  pass  out  of  their  class :  Once  a  working- 
man  always  a  workingman,  was  becoming  an 
accepted  maxim  among  the  workers.  When  the 
war  ended  labor  organizations  of  the  trade  union 
type  were  multiplying  and  waxing  strong.    The  re- 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR        33 

turn  of  the  soldiers  to  peaceful  pursuits,  the  con- 
tinued influx  of  immigrants  from  the  old  world, 
and  the  growing  power  of  industrial  combinations, 
all  contributed  to  arouse  the  wage  earners  of  the 
nation  to  unwonted  activity. 

The  history  of  labor  organizations  from  the  dose 
of  the  Civil  War  to  the  end  of  the  fifth  epoch  in 
1895  is  a  record  of  ebb  and  flow,  agitation,  organ- 
ization and  disintegration.  It  is,  indeed,  a  strange 
blend  of  unionism  and  politics,  of  individualism  and 
socialism,  of  strikes,  greenbackism  and  cooperation, 
of  prosperity,  panics  and  concentration  of  indus- 
try. The  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  War  is  pre- 
eminently one  of  preparation ;  in  it  are  laid  the  eco- 
nomic and  psychological  foundations  upon  which 
have  been  built,  in  a  large  measure,  the  trade  union 
organizations  of  to-day.  Movements,  ephemeral 
and  inchoate,  but  grand  in  conception,  hasten  nerv- 
ously across  the  stage.  At  intervals  during  the  pe- 
riod writers  in  the  numerous  labor  papers  declare 
now  is  a  time  of  transition  and  that  organization 
at  this  particular  moment  will  be  unusually  fruit- 
ful of  good  results.  The  workers,  distrustful  and 
individualistic  but  harassed  by  the  fear  of  monop- 
oly, the  competition  of  unskilled  labor,  the  intro- 
duction of  machinery  and  lower  wages,  cohere  for 
a  brief  period  under  the  pressure  of  extraordinary 
conditions  or  of  the  influence  of  enthusiastic  lead- 
ers, only  to  repel  each  other  as  their  financial  skies 
appear  to  clear.     But,  by  the  end  of  the  period. 


34  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  labor  organization  had  become  one  of  the  per- 
manent institutions  of  the  nation. 

The  panic  of  1873  wiped  out  not  a  few  labor  or- 
ganizations; but,  unlike  the  situation  in  1837,  many 
unions  weathered  the  storm.  In  the  eighties  came 
the  phenomenal  growth  and  the  beginning  of  the 
decline  of  the  first  powerful  and  coherent  national 
labor  organization  in  the  United  States,  the  Knights 
of  Labor.  The  decade  of  the  eighties  also  wit- 
nessed the  birth  of  the  American  Federation  of  La- 
bor. The  membership  of  the  Federation  increased 
from  less  than  50,000  in  1881,  the  year  of  its  forma- 
tion, to  about  275,000  in  1893.  During  the  pe- 
riod from  1893  to  1898  inclusive,  the  membership 
remained  practically  unchanged. ^^ 

The  eighties  were  years  of  great  industrial  de- 
velopment. The  number  of  wage  earners  engaged 
in  manufacture  increased  from  nearly  two  and 
three-fourths  in  1880  to  four  and  one-fourth  mil- 
lions in  1890, — an  increase  of  about  fifty-five  per 
cent,  in  ten  years.  The  railway  mileage  of  the 
United  States  expanded  from  93,296  in  1880  to 
163,579  i^  1890, — an  increase  of  over  seventy-five 
per  cent,  in  one  decade.  This  was  the  era  of  "tooth 
and  claw"  competition.  The  trust  appeared  on  the 
scene;  and  the  small  business  was  engaged  in  fight- 
ing for  its  life, — and  losing  on  many  industrial 
fields.     Independent  industries  and  proprietors  were 

"  See  Proceedings  of  the  Convention  of  the  A.  F.  of  L., 
1915.  P-  45. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR       35 

being  ruthlessly  crushed  in  order  that  a  compara- 
tively small  number  of  big  businesses  might  sur- 
vive and  flourish;  and  in  the  process  the  employee 
inevitably  suffered. 

The  corporate  form  of  business  organization  was 
absorbing  a  larger  and  larger  percentage  of  the 
industrial  activity  of  the  nation;  "and  this  implies 
a  momentous  change  in  the  rights,  responsibilities, 
and  economic  theories  of  the  owners  of  capital. 
Moreover,  it  involves  the  creation  of  a  new  class 
of  men,  not  entrepreneurs  in  the  old  sense,  but  or- 
ganizers of  already  established  concerns  into  larger 
units."  ^^  The  employer  in  many  industries  no 
longer  came  into  personal  touch  with  his  em- 
ployees; and  the  old  personal  relations  no  longer 
existed  to  soften  and  humanize  the  treatment  of  his 
employees.  Capitalism  was  growing  stronger;  and 
immigration  was  multiplying.  A  new  era  was,  in- 
deed, in  the  making;  and  the  wage  earners  were 
being  prepared  for  more  definite  and  firm  organ- 
ization. But,  as  the  frontier  line  faded,  the  old 
individualistic  ideals  of  the  frontier  and  of  the  pre- 
Civil-War  period  still  prevailed.  These  long  main- 
tained and  much  lauded  ideals  were  not  displaced 
without  considerable  social  friction;  they  died  hard. 
Strikes  were  of  frequent  occurrence  and  the  boy- 
cott became  a  popular  weapon.  The  spirit  of  soli- 
darity among  the  wage  earners  was,  however,  still 

**  Beard,  Contemporary  American  History,  p.  36. 


2,6  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

weak.  The  "separating  influences  of  shops  in  one 
town,  theories  about  general  principles,  language, 
nationality,  or  the  division  of  labor,  split  the  work- 
ers on  one  and  the  same  product  into  bickering 
factions."  ^'^ 

The  score  of  years  between  the  panics  of  1873 
and  1893  marked  an  extremely  peculiar  period  in 
American  history.  It  was  an  epoch  of  great  un- 
rest and  discontent.  The  panic  of  1873  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  extraordinary  amount  of  unemploy- 
ment, suffering  and  unrest.  In  the  latter  part  of 
the  seventies,  many  secret  organizations  of  work- 
ing men  appeared.  Labor  difficulties  culminated 
with  the  railway  strikes  of  1877.  These  were  pre- 
cipitated by  cuts  in  the  rate  of  wages.  The  chair- 
man of  an  "Immense  Mass  Meeting  of  Working- 
men"  held  in  New  York  City  in  June  of  the  cen- 
tennial year,  declared :  "The  lands,  the  money,  the 
property  of  the  nation  have  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  few,  and  the  many  are  idle,  homeless  and 
starving."  The  agitation  and  unrest  among  the 
workers  led  to  repressive  measures  on  the  part  of 
various  city  officials.  ^® 

In  the  middle  years  of  the  decade  social  unrest 
reached  a  maximum.  In  no  other  decade  "of  our 
history  has  there  been  such  wide-spread  evidence 

^'Cherouny,  The  Historical  Development  of  the  Labor 
Question. 
"  ]\IcNeill,   The  Labor  Movement,  p.   147. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR       37 

of  discontent.  Not  only  did  our  workmen  in  mills, 
factories,  and  mines,  and  on  the  railways  protest 
against  existing  conditions  of  employment,  but 
there  was  profound  disappointment  and  unrest  on 
the  part  of  the  sections  of  society  which  lie  between 
the  artisan  and  the  rich.  Organized  labor  struck 
and  boycotted;  legislatures  passed  factory  acts  and 
established  boards  of  arbitration;  men  of  property 
and  intelligence ,  with  gospel  zeal,  advocated  the 
seizur2  by  the  state  of  economic  rent;  while  others 
turned  sympathetically  to  socialism  as  presented  in 
the  attractive  guise  of  'nationalism.'  Anarchy  even 
obtained  a  foothold.  Strikes  were  no  new  thing, 
but  not  until  this  period  were  they  recognized  as  a 
part  of  the  routine  of  industrial  life."  ^^  The  dark 
pictures  painted  by  the  leaders  among  the  wage 
earners  and  the  farmers  of  this  decade  should  be 
studied.  The  following  is  from  the  pen  of  the 
head  of  the  then  powerful  Knights  of  Labor.  "Ab- 
sorbed in  the  task  of  getting  large  dividends,  the 
employer  seldom  inquired  of  his  superintendent  how 
he  managed  the  business  intrusted  to  his  keeping, 
or  how  he  treated  the  employees.  In  thousands  of 
places  throughout  the  United  States,  as  many  su- 
perintendents, foremen  or  petty  bosses  are  inter- 
ested in  stores,  corner  groceries  or  saloons.  In 
many  places  the  employee  is  told  plainly  that  he 
must  deal  at  the  store,  or  get  his  liquor  from  the 
saloon  in  which  his  boss  has  an  interest;  in  others 
"Dewey,  National  Problems,  pp.  40-41. 


38  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

he  is  given  to  understand  that  he  must  deal  in  these 
stores  or  saloons,  or  forfeit  his  situation."  ^^ 

The  number  of  establishments  in  which  strikes 
occurred  in  1886  was  10,053,  o^  over  four  times  as 
many  as  were  affected  in  1885.  This  number  was 
not  exceeded  until  1900;  and  the  number  of  em- 
ployees thrown  out  of  work  in  1886  by  strikes  was 
not  exceeded  until  1894.  The  big  strike  on  the 
Missouri  Pacific  system  took  place  in  1886.  The 
anarchist  episode  in  Chicago,  known  as  the  Hay- 
market  riot,  occurred  in  May  of  the  same  year. 
This  is  also  the  year  of  the  Henry  George  cam- 
paign in  New  York  City.  In  1887,  many  "anti- 
poverty"  societies  were  formed.  Bellamy's  Look- 
ing Backward,  the  last  book  upon  Utopian  social- 
ism to  attract  much  attention,  appeared  in  1888; 
its  publication  was  followed  by  the  establishment 
of  many  "Nationalist  societies."  In  1894,  660,425 
employees  were  thrown  out  of  work  by  strikes, — 
a  total  not  exceeded  in  the  period,  1881-1905,  for 
which  the  Bureau  of  Labor  furnished  statistics. 
The  famous  Pullman  strike  occurred  in  that  year; 
and  the  Homestead  strike  in  1892.  The  Populist 
party,  in  1892,  polled  over  a  million  votes;  and 
gained  twenty-two  electoral  votes. 

As  an  aftermath  of  every  great  war  comes  a  pe- 
riod of  moral  decline;  and  the  years  following  the 
Civil   War   were   no   exception.     Bribery,    corrup- 

^Powdeiiy,  Labor;  Its  Rights  and  Wrongs;  also,  in 
North  American  Review,  May,  1886. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR        39 

tion,  political  rings,  stock  watering  and  a  fierce  com- 
petitive struggle  between  business  units  were  the 
order  of  the  day.  "It  was  the  time  when  the 
American  dollarocracy  of  beef,  pills,  soap,  oil,  or 
railroads  became  the  world-wide  synonym  for  the 
parvenu  and  the  upstart.  In  literature  it  produced 
the  cheap,  wood-pulp,  sensational  daily,  the  Nem 
York  Ledger  type  of  magazine,  the  dime  novel,  and 
the  works  of  Mary  J.  Holmes,  Laura  Jean  Libby, 
and  'The  Duchess.'  In  industry  its  dominant  fig- 
ures were  Jay  Gould  and  Jim  Fiske.  In  politics 
it  evolved  the  'machine,'  the  ward  heeler,  and  the 
political  boss,  with  Tweed  as  the  finished  sam- 
ple." ^^ 

The  widespread  discontent  bore  as  its  legitimate 
fruit  a  variety  of  fantastic  reform  movements 
among  the  wage  earners  and  the  farmers.  Indeed, 
the  multiplicity  of  political  reform  movements,  their 
weakness  and  lack  of  harmony  are  indicative  of  the 
bankruptcy  of  the  reform  movements  of  the  type 
then  prevailing.  Truth,  "A  Journal  for  the  Poor" 
and  a  radical  paper,  declared :  "This  journal  is 
not  the  paid  mouthpiece  of  either  Trades'  Unions, 
Knights  of  Labor,  Anti-Monopoly  Party,  Green- 
back Party,  Socialistic  Labor  Party,  Liberal  League, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry  (Grangers),  Farmers'  Al- 
liance, Irish  Revolutionary  Organizations,  or  any 
other  Nihilistic,  Communal  or  Socialistic  organiza- 

**  Simons,  Social  Forces  in  American  History,  pp.  307- 
308. 


40  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

tion.  But  it  is  the  friend  of  every  one  of  them."  '° 
A  "counter-reformation"  was  also  started  by 
many  capitalists  and  middle  class  reformers  to 
sweep  aside  the  worst  of  the  abuses  of  which  the 
farmers  and  the  wage  workers  complained. ^^  This 
"counter-reformation"  originated  in  the  eighties  but 
has  only  attained  considerable  importance  since  the 
opening  of  the  present  century.  Some  of  the  early 
legislative  results  of  this  conciliatory  program  are 
the  interstate  commerce  act  of  1887,  the  law  of 
1888  providing  for  voluntary  arbitration  of  dis- 
putes between  railway  employers  and  employees,  the 
Sherman  anti-trust  act  of  1890,  and  the  income  tax 
law  of  1894.  In  1886,  President  Cleveland  sent  a 
special  message  to  Congress  relating  to  the  labor 
problem. 

The  attention  of  students  in  our  colleges  and  uni- 
versities was  also  attracted  to  labor  and  economic 
problems  because  of  the  economic  revolution 
through  which  the  nation  was  passing.  The  Amer- 
ican Economic  Association  was  organized  in  1885; 
and  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  So- 
cial Science  in  1889.  The  Quarterly  Journal  of 
Economics  (Harvard)  was  first  published  in  1886; 
and  the  Political  Science  Quarterly  (Columbia)  ap- 
peared in  the  same  year.  Professor  Ely's  pioneer 
book  on  American  labor  problems,  The  Labor 
Movement  in  America,  was  also  published  in  1886. 

*"  Truth,  September  15,  1883,  vol.  7. 

"Beard,  Contemporary  American  History,  pp.  303  ff. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR       41 

With  the  defeat  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the 
spectacular  campaign  of  1896,  and  the  beginning 
of  the  long  era  of  rising  prices,  the  discontent  of 
the  farmers  became  less  and  less  acute.  Restless 
and  radical  Kansas,  for  example,  was  gradually 
transformed  into  prosperous  and  contented  Kan- 
sas; and  the  epoch  of  greenback  and  populist  agi- 
tation drew  to  a  close.  As  the  end  of  the  cen- 
tury approached  came  an  extraordinary  period  of 
gigantic  business  combinations.  This  era  of  great 
activity  in  the  formation  of  trusts  was  closely  fol- 
lowed by  years  of  unusual  activity  in  union  cir- 
cles. The  membership  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor  increased  over  sixfold  in  seven  years,  from 
264,825  in  1897  to  1,676,200  in  1904.  The  latter 
figure  remained,  however,  the  high-water  mark  un- 
til 191 1.  In  1914,  the  membership  of  the  Federa- 
tion passed  the  two  million  mark.  The  total  mem- 
bership of  all  labor  organizations  in  the  United 
States,  in  1916,  was  probably  almost  3,000,000. 
The  American  quasi-syndicalist  organization,  the 
Industrial  Workers  of  the  World,  was  formed  in 
1905 ',  it  opposes  political  action. 

During  the  period  of  phenomenal  growth,  1898- 
1904,  labor  organizations  avoided  affiliations  with 
reform  movements;  and  labor  kept  clear  of  poli- 
tics. In  1906,  however,  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor,  while  refusing  to  countenance  the  or- 
ganization of  a  separate  labor  party,  adopted  the 
policy  of  electing  union  men  and  the     friends"  of 


42  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

organized  labor  to  political  offices. ^^  Among  the 
notable  projects  of  the  latter  portion  of  the  sixth 
epoch  are  the  progressive  movement,  the  agitation 
for  conservation,  and  the  enthusiastic  demand  for 
efficiency  and  scientific  management,  the  optimistic 
belief  that  poverty  can  be  abolished,  and  the  initia- 
tion of  systems  of  social  insurance. 

The  year  19 14  has  been  chosen  to  mark  the  open- 
ing of  a  new  epoch.  Now,  it  is,  of  course,  some- 
what hazardous  to  select  a  date  so  near  to  the  pres- 
ent moment  for  this  purpose,  but  the  beginning  of 
the  great  European  war,  the  rapid  rise  in  the  cost 
of  living,  the  reduction  in  the  flow  of  immigra- 
tion, and,  finally,  the  entrance  of  the  United  States 
into  the  war,  all  point  to  the  opening  of  a  new  era 
in  American  labor  and  industrial  history.  The 
foreshadowings  of  this  epoch  were  discernible  for 
a  decade  or  even  longer.  The  disappearance  of  the 
frontier  was  a  phenomenon  which  portended  far- 
reaching  changes  in  American  civilization.  The 
fading  of  the  frontier  line,  the  growth  of  machine 
industry,  and  the  eliminaticm  of  many  traditional 
forms  of  skill,  give  the  so-called  unskilled  men  an 
opportunity  to  override  the  democracy  of  the  mid- 
dle class  as  did  the  democracy  of  Jackson  over- 
whelm the  democracy  or  the  liberalism  of  Jefferson 
and  of  John  Quincy  Adams.  Labor  partyism,  pro- 
gressivism,  socialism  and  syndicalism  are  among  the 
contending  forms  of  uplift  or  of  social  emancipa- 

"  See  Chapter  VIII. 


HISTORY  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR      43 

tion  which  are  competing  in  the  national  arena  for 
the  favor  of  the  men  who  are  toiHng  in  our  mod- 
ern subdivided  industries.  As  a  consequence, 
there  is  reason  to  anticipate  that  labor  organiza- 
tions are  to-day  standing  on  the  threshold  of  a  new 
epoch  in  their  history. 

Furthermore,  the  Great  War  has  brought  the 
world,  including  the  neutral  as  well  as  the  warring 
nations,  face  to  face  with  new  and  extraordinary 
economic  conditions.  In  the  warring  nations,  in- 
dustry was  being  regulated  and  directed  in  the  in- 
terests of  national  safety  and  national  strength. 
When  the  gigantic  struggle  ended,  there  were  excel- 
lent reasons  for  the  expectation  that  industry  in  the 
contending  nations  will  continue  to  be  regulated  and 
controlled  quite  rigidly  in  the  interests  of  social 
welfare  and  national  prestige  or  international  needs. 
It  was  to  be  expected  that  the  leaders  of  the  nation 
would  discern  that  a  policy  of  centralized  and 
definitely  planned  regulation  and  direction  which 
succeeded  in  a  time  of  military  stress  might  also 
spell  efficiency  in  days  of  peace.  That  harsh  and 
repulsive  instructor,  war,  taught  lessons  in  regard 
to  industrial  efficiency  which  no  alert  and  forward- 
looking  people  can  afford  to  neglect. 

In  order  to  survive  in  the  after-war  competition, 
a  nation  will  be  obliged  to  adopt  new  policies  of 
integration  and  to  outline  plans  which  will  link 
labor  and  capital  together  in  such  a  way  as  to  re- 
duce industrial  warfare  and  raise  the  level  of  in- 


44  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

dustrial  efficiency.  Social  welfare,  national  effi- 
ciency, "integrated  America"  and  world  relation- 
ships were  some  of  the  stirring  slogans  which  made 
a  vivid  impression  upon  the  men  and  women  of 
America  during  the  war  period.  Wage  earners  as 
well  as  others  felt  the  impulse  due  to  new  social 
ideals.  And,  moreover,  for  the  first  time  in  our 
history,  this  nation  was  swept  "into  the  very  center 
of  world  relationships."  Isolated  America  no  longer 
exists.  But,  unfortunately,  the  enthusiasm,  the  fine 
idealism  and  the  solidarity  so  evident  in  the  months 
of  war  are  already  very  largely  matters  of  history. 
The  aftermath  of  war  is  again  proving  to  be  not 
good  to  look  upon.  As  these  words  are  being  writ- 
ten (December,  191 9)  the  United  States  is  face  to 
face  with  serious  industrial  disputes ;  and  prominent 
Americans  are  trying  hard  to  force  the  foreign 
policy  of  the  nation  back  into  the  old  grooves  of 
the  pre-war  days. 


CHAPTER  III 

ADOPTION   AND  INTERPRETATION   OF   THE 
CONSTITUTION 

The  American  Revolution  was  not  a  struggle  pre- 
cipitated by  the  workingmen  of  the  colonies;  but 
during  the  time  of  agitation  preceding  the  opening 
of  hostilities,  the  agitators  had  been  quite  wiUing 
to  accept  the  assistance  of  the  mechanics  and  of  the 
nonvoters.  "In  many  elections  to  early  revolution- 
ary conventions  and  congresses,  the  disfranchised 
classes  voted,  sometimes  on  explicit  invitation  of 
the  revolutionary  committees  and  sometimes  because 
it  was  not  easy  or  desirable  to  stop  them."  ^  The 
Declaration  of  Independence  with  its  emphasis  upon 
equality  and  the  rights  of  man  doubtless  made  a 
forceful  appeal  to  the  workers  of  the  period.  The 
familiar  phraseology  of  an  oft-quoted  sentence  of 
the  Declaration  must  have  stirred  the  ambitions  and 
emotions  of  the  wage  earners  of  that  day.  "We 
hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men 
are  created  equal,  that  they  are  endowed  by  their 
Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights,  that  among 
these  are  Life,  Liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  Happi- 
ness."    And  to  secure  these  rights,  it  was  further 

*West,  American  History  and  Government,  p.  195. 
45 


46  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

asserted,  governments  are  instituted.  This  radical 
document  was  written  in  an  epoch  which  "favored 
strong  famiHes  and  the  ascendancy  of  an  upper 
class  to  an  extent  which  our  own  day  American 
States  would  not  tolerate."  ^  Our  forefathers  were 
not  a  group  of  altruists  or  supermen  whose  feet 
rarely  touched  the  earth ;  they  possessed  weaknesses 
and  prejudices  similar  to  those  of  the  men  of  to- 
day. From  the  earliest  colonial  times,  class  dis- 
tinctions had  been  fostered  by  colonial  laws  and 
customs.  The  Declaration  was  a  premature  asser- 
tion of  democracy.  The  democracy  of  1776  has 
been  aptly  termed  by  Walter  Weyl,  a  "shadow-de- 
mocracy." 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolution  many  members 
of  the  middle  and  working  classes  of  the  country 
were  in  debt,  poverty  and  misery.  The  infant  in- 
dustries of  the  new  nation,  artificially  stimulated  by 
the  war  and  by  the  cessation  of  commerce  with 
other  nations,  were  menaced  by  the  influx  of  manu- 
factured goods  from  England.  The  issuance  dur- 
ing the  first  years  of  the  Revolution  of  large  sums 
of  paper  money,  which  quickly  depreciated  and 
finally  became  practically  worthless,  complicated 
matters.  Debt  collection  became  the  program  of 
the  period.  The  embattled  farmer  and  the  sturdy 
mechanic  who  fought  at  Bunker  Hill  and  starved 
at  Valley  Forge  came  home  to  meet  the  debt  col- 
lector and  to  face  his  creditors  in  the  law  courts. 

'  Schouler,  Americans  of  1776,  p.  292. 


ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION     47 

"The  lawyers  were  overwhelmed  with  cases.  The 
courts  could  not  try  half  that  came  before  them." 
In  New  Hampshire,  if  the  law  providing  for  the 
imprisonment  of  debtors  ''had  been  rigorously  exe- 
cuted in  the  autumn  of  1785,  it  is  probable  that 
not  far  from  two-thirds  of  the  community  would 
have  been  in  prison."  ^  The  small  farmer,  the  me- 
chanic and  the  men  of  the  western  portion  of  the 
country  were  hard  hit.  "As  for  the  landless  la- 
borer, he  toiled  from  sun  to  sun  for  a  wage  lower 
than  that  to-day  earned  by  a  newly  arrived  Hun- 
garian immigrant."  *  The  great  mass  of  small 
farmers  and  artisans  felt  that  the  Revolution  had 
brought  no  advantage  to  them ;  it  seemed  to  be 
only  a  mere  transfer  of  control  from  England  and 
the  loyalists  to  the  insistent  merchants  and  money- 
lenders of  the  coast.  The  merchants  and  the  cred- 
itor class  were  aggressively  insistent  in  their  de- 
mands. Unrest,  mutterings,  hatred  and  finally  out- 
bursts of  wrath  and  insurrection,  of  which  Shays's 
Rebellion  was  the  most  noted  and  considerable,  fol- 
lowed. The  mass,  the  "simple  men,"  were  stirred. 
One  of  the  leaders  in  Shays's  Rebellion  expressed 
his  idea  of  liberty  in  the  following  manner:  "My 
boys,  you  are  going  to  fight  for  liberty.  If  you 
wish  to  know  what  liberty  is,  I  will  tell  you.  It 
is  for  every'  man  to  do  what  he  pleases,  to  make 

'  McMaster,  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States, 
vol.  I.  c.  I. 
*  Weyl,  The  New  Democracy,  p.  11. 


48  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

other  folks  do  as  you  please  to  have  them,  and  to 
keep  folks  from  serving  the  devil."  This  crude  ex- 
pression of  the  keynote  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence was  full  of  menace  to  the  propertied 
classes  of  the  nation. 

The  propertied  and  conservative  class  clearly  saw 
the  danger.  Property  rights  and  vested  interests 
were  threatened  by  the  impatience  and  wrath  of 
the  strenuous  frontiersman.  Commercial  credit, 
contract  rights  and  the  validity  of  mortgages  were 
menaced  by  the  rising  tide  of  the  turbulent  and 
naive  democracy  of  the  frontier  and  of  the  wage 
earner.  The  differences  of  interest  which  existed 
between  landowner,  merchant  and  small  manufac- 
turer were  to  a  considerable  extent  temporarily 
overlooked  in  the  face  of  a  visible  common  danger 
from  the  unrest  of  the  despised  proletariat. 

Strong  government,  bulwarked  property  rights 
and  bourgeoisie  supremacy  became  the  unexpressed 
but  precious  watchwords  of  the  conservative  lead- 
ers. State  rights,  localism  and  even  the  traditional 
idea  that  centralized  government  was  synonymous 
with  tyrannical  government,  were  unceremoniously 
thrust  into  the  background.  The  government  un- 
der the  Articles  of  Confederation  was  fast  drifting 
toward  anarchy;  and  the  European  nations  stood 
eagerly  awaiting  the  climax.  The  collectivist  spirit 
was  raising  its  hideous  head.  General  Knox  was 
ordered  to  ascertain  the  demands  of  the  radicals 
of  Massachusetts.     "Their  creed  is,"  he  reported, 


ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION    49 

"that  the  property  of  the  United  States  has  been 
protected  from  confiscation  of  Britain  by  the  joint 
exertions  of  all,  and  therefore  ought  to  be  the  com- 
mon property  of  all."  In  Rhode  Island,  the  paper 
money  faction  obtained  control  of  the  legislature; 
and  a  "State  trade"  scheme  was  proposed.  The 
State  was  to  provide  vessels  and  become  an  im- 
porting agent. 

Such  was  the  situation  which  led  to  the  demand 
for  a  constitutional  convention  to  amend  and 
strengthen  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  The  con- 
stitutional convention  was  a  semibusiness  proposi- 
tion. It  was  called  for  the  specific  purpose  of 
formulating  a  plan  for  a  stable,  strong,  business- 
like government  which  would  place  contract  and 
property  upon  a  firm  legal  foundation  and  bulwark 
those  rights  behind  constitutional  formulae  and 
court  decisions. 

The  convention  was  composed  of  men  represent- 
ing the  various  propertied  interests  of  the  time. 
They  represented  the  planters,  the  merchants  and 
the  bankers.  According  to  Madison,  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  convention,  "the  delegates  to  An- 
napolis and  later  to  Philadelphia  were  brought  to- 
gether in  response  to  the  demands  of  the  business 
men  of  the  country,  not  to  form  an  ideal  plan  of 
government,  but  such  a  practical  plan  as  would  meet 
the  business  need  of  the  people."  '^     The  delegates 

*  McMaster,  Acquisition  of  Political,  Social  and  /n- 
dustrial  Rights  of  Man  in  America,  p.  27. 


50  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

were  selected  by  the  state  legislatures;  no  oppor- 
tunity was  given  for  a  popular  election  of  the  dele- 
gates. "Not  one  member  represented  in  his  im- 
mediate personal  economic  interests  the  small  farm- 
ing and  mechanic  classes."  ^  These  men  differed 
in  regard  to  many  details;  but,  with  the  specter  of 
Shays's  Rebellion  before  them,  they  agreed  that 
agrarianism  must  be  suppressed  and  permanently 
controlled  by  a  powerful  governmental  mechanism. 
The  Constitution  was  formulated  behind  closed 
doors;  and  the  proceedings  were  very  carefully  con- 
cealed from  the  eyes  and  ears  of  the  public.  Only 
thirty  to  forty  men  actually  took  an  active  part  in 
the  work  of  the  convention.  That  body  exceeded 
its  powers  in  formulating  a  new  instrument  of  gov- 
ernment instead  of  attempting  to  patch  the  old  Ar- 
ticles of  Confederation.  The  Constitution  was  not 
submitted  to  a  popular  vote.  It  was  adopted  by 
conventions  called  in  the  thirteen  states  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ratifying  or  rejecting  it.  In  all  of  the 
states,  except  New  York,  property  qualifications  re- 
stricted the  right  of  suffrage.  Professor  Beard  es- 
timates that  approximately  three-fourths  of  the 
adult  males  were  disqualified  or  failed  to  vote  in 
the  elections  for  delegates  to  the  state  conventions. 
Many  of  the  nonproperty  owners,  the  wage  earners 
and  the  pioneer  farmers  were  not  allowed  to  cast 
votes  for  delegates. 

•Beard,  An  Economic  Interpretation  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  p.  149. 


ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION     51 

Furthermore,  the  group  in  favor  of  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution,  called  the  Federalists,  was  well 
organized;  they  "got  out  their  vote."  The  Fed- 
eralists had  sufficient  funds  to  insure  publicity  for 
their  side  of  the  argument.  They  opened  what  in 
recent  terminology  is  called  a  campaign  of  educa- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  the  opposition  was  scat- 
tered, apathetic  and  not  well  organized  or  financed. 
The  touchstone  of  direct  personal  interest  was  lack- 
ing among  the  anti-Federalists,  Finally,  under  pres- 
sure, anti-Federalist  delegates  were  won  over  in 
the  conventions — a  device  much  used  in  more  recent 
years."^  As  a  political  factor  in  formulating  or  in 
ratifying  the  Constitution,  the  wage  earner  was  of 
little  or  no  importance.  He  was  ignored  or  rather 
declared  to  be  unworthy  of  consideration.  The 
statement  made  by  Ellsworth  of  Connecticut,  dur- 
ing the  discussion  as  to  the  restriction  of  slavery, 
illustrates  the  attitude  of  the  farmers  of  the  Con- 
stitution toward  the  wage-earning  class  of  1789. 
"As  population  increases  poor  laborers  will  be  so 
plenty  as  to  render  slaves  useless."  Gerry  of  Massa- 
chusetts also  deplored  the  effects  of  an  "excess  of 
democracy."  Edmond  Randolph  declared  that  the 
members  of  the  Convention  found  the  origin  of  the 
political  evils  of  the  country  "in  the  turbulence  and 
follies  of  democracy."  ^ 

'See  Beard,  An  Economic  Interpretation  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  particularly  pp.  324-325. 
*  See  Smith,  The  Spirit  of  American  Government,  c.  3. 


52  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

The  great  landowners,  the  merchants,  friends  of 
American  manufacture,  the  banking  interests  and 
the  returning  Tories,  all  favored  the  adoption  of 
the  Constitution;  but  the  frontiersman,  the  small 
farmer,  the  debtor,  the  mechanic  and  other  wage 
earners — men  owning  little  or  no  property — opposed 
its  adoption.  While  the  question  of  the  adoption 
or  rejection  of  the  Constitution  was  being  discussed 
in  New  York,  the  workingmen  of  New  York  City- 
showed  their  opposition  to  it  by  a  big  street  demon- 
stration in  favor  of  rejection.  In  South  CaroUna, 
for  example,  the  clerks,  artisans  and  other  workers 
of  Charleston,  and  the  small,  upland  farmers,  op- 
posed the  adoption  of  the  Constitution.  The  plant- 
ers of  the  lowlands  and  the  merchants  of  Charles- 
ton— the  ruling  elements  of  the  State — favored  the 
new  form  of  government.  The  majority,  deprived 
of  the  ballot  and  discriminated  against  by  means  of 
the  gerrymander,  were  easily  defeated  in  that  State 
by  an  aggressive,  able  and  united  class  the  members 
of  which  were  quite  clear  as  to  the  benefits  of  a 
government  which  restrained  the  unruly  radicals 
and  uncouth  frontiersmen. 

Our  federal  Constitution  has  ever  exerted  a  j>o- 
tent  conservative  or  reactionary  influence  upon 
American  life  and  progress.  This  document  was 
drawn  up  in  an  era  before  the  trust,  the  railway,  the 
trade  union,  the  world  market,  and  before  the  nu- 
merous recent  revolutionary  discoveries  and  theo- 
ries.    Since  it  was  formulated  and  adopted  through 


ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION     53 

the  work  and  influence  of  the  conservative  and 
propertied  interests  of  the  period  which  were  united 
and  prodded  into  effective  activity  by  the  fear  of 
foreign  aggression  and  of  unrest  among  the  debtors 
and  workers  at  home,  that  historic  document  is  un- 
democratic. *Tt  is  often  said  that  the  United  States 
Constitution  established  a  government  of  the  people, 
by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  but  in  the  light  of 
experience  it  may  more  truly  be  said  to  have  pro- 
vided the  machinery  for  a  government  of  the  people, 
by  the  political  majority,  in  behalf  of  the  interests 
which  control  that  majority."  ®  The  Constitution 
has  established  extraordinary  bulwarks  around  prop- 
erty rights.  As  conservative  and  judicial  a  writer 
as  the  President  of  Yale  University  has  reached  the 
conclusion  that  private  property  in  this  country  is 
"in  a  stronger  position  as  against  the  Government 
and  Governmental  authority  than  is  the  case  in  any 
country  in  Europe."  ^"  The  work  of  a  convention 
composed  chiefly  of  delegates  representing  the  busi- 
ness interests  of  the  country  would  necessarily  be 
somewhat  unsatisfactory  to  other  classes  in  the  na- 
tion. Paraphrasing  President  Lincoln,  it  may  be 
said  that  no  class  in  the  community  is  good  enough 
or  altruistic  enough  to  legislate  for  another.  The 
enfranchised  workingmen  of  a  later  period  have 
found  the  Constitution  an  obstacle  in  the  road  to- 
ward  industrial    freedom   and   equality   of   oppor- 

•  Phillips,  The  Life  of  Robert  Toombs,  p.  49. 
'"Hadley.  The  Independent,  April  16,  1908. 


54  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

tunity;  It  has  handicapped  the  workers  in  their 
progress  toward  a  better  legal  status. 

The  Constitution  can  be  amended  only  with  ex- 
treme difficulty;  ^^  and  it  has  been  continued  by 
stretching  the  meaning  of  words  to  fit  new  condi- 
tions through  the  instrumentality  of  the  police  pow- 
er. The  far-reaching  extent  of  this  prerogative  of 
the  courts  can  best  be  expressed  in  the  language  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States :  "It  may  be 
said  in  a  general  way  that  the  police  power  extends 
to  all  the  public  needs.  It  may  be  put  forth  in  aid 
of  what  may  be  sanctioned  by  usage,  or  upheld  by 
the  prevailing  morality  or  strong  and  preponderant 
opinion  to  be  greatly  and  immediately  necessary  to 
the  public  welfare."  ^^  Surely  this  interpretation  by 
the  highest  legal  authority  is  broad  enough  to  fur- 
nish a  satisfactory  basis  for  the  support  of  almost 
any  kind  of  proposed  labor  legislation.  This  dictum 
of  the  court  also  clearly  points  to  the  common  sense 
doctrine  that  a  law  which  was  held  to  be  unconstitu- 
tional a  decade  ago  may  not  necessarily  be  such  to- 
day or  to-morrow. 

But  as  the  interpretation  of  the  phraseology  of 
the  Constitution  is  given  to  men  who  were  trained  a 
generation  or  more  ago,  and  who  are  members  of 
a  profession  which  is  peculiarly  precedent  shackled, 

^The  recent  adoption  of  the  Sixteenth,  Seventeenth 
and  Eighteenth  Amendments  point  toward  a  modification 
of  this' statement. 

^219  U.  S.,  104. 


ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION     55 

even  this  crude  method  of  stretching  the  Constitution 
does  not  suffice  to  enable  our  legal  forms  to  con- 
form to  the  ever  changing  social  and  economic  re- 
quirements of  the  present.  As  long  as  free  land  and 
a  frontier  were  important  factors  in  the  nation,  the 
Constitution  could  be  stretched  adequately  to  meet 
new  situations — the  old  laissez  faire,  individualistic 
interpretation  of  liberty  and  of  constitutional  rights 
was  not  seriously  out  of  step  with  the  course  of 
events.  When  the  frontier  disappears  and  great 
industr}^  enters,  our  legal  and  constitutional  edi- 
fice is  subjected  to  serious  strain.  Liberty,  the  right 
of  contract,  the  right  to  do  business,  and  similar 
indefinite  phrases  must  be  interpreted  anew  in  the 
light  of  a  changed  and  complicated  economic  and 
industrial  situation.  Yet,  until  a  very  recent  date, 
our  courts  were  prone  to  decide  cases  relating  to 
the  relation  of  labor  to  capital  in  practically  the  same 
way  that  John  Marshall  did, — and  Marshall  was  a 
federalist  of  the  ultra-orthodox  type.  His  training 
and  experience  offered  no  opportunity  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  wage  earner's  point  of  view.  Too 
often  it  has  been  apparently  forgotten  that,  when 
aggregated  capital  faces  organized  labor,  the  situa- 
tion is  very  different  from  that  which  obtained  when 
the  isolated  employer  faced  the  independent  worker. 
Legal  forms  have  not  infrequently  concealed  and 
overshadowed  common  sense  and  social  welfare; 
the  malienable  rights  of  men  often  seem  to  have 
been  displaced  by  the  sacred   rights  of  property 


56  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  privilege.  The  transfer  of  emphasis  from  prop- 
erty rights  to  human  welfare  is  always  and  every- 
where attended  by  many  difficulties.  In  America, 
moreover,  the  retarding  influence  of  traditional  prej- 
udice against  wage  workers  has  been  effectively 
supplemented  by  legal  hindrances.  But  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  the  courts  faced  a  very  difficult 
problem  in  attempting  to  interpret  an  eighteenth 
century  document  in  the  closing  years  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  and  the  opening  decades  of  the  twen- 
tieth. Furthermore,  reformers  are,  almost  without 
exception,  exceedingly  impatient. 

The  early  State  constitutions  also  placed  prop- 
erty qualifications  upon  office-holding  and  upon  the 
right  of  franchise.  The  famous  and  much-lauded 
Ordinance  of  1787  passed  by  Congress  acting  under 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  and  relating  to  the 
North-West  Territory,  was  distinctly  undemocratic. 
To  qualify  as  a  voter,  a  man  must  possess  a  free- 
hold of  fifty  acres,  and  the  territorial  governors  must 
each  possess  one  of  at  least  one  thousand  acres.  The 
poor  man  was  considered  to  be  unworthy  of  power 
or  privilege. 

Alexander  Hamilton  was  undoubtedly  the  most 
important  personage  officially  connected  with  the 
first  two  administrations.  It  was  Hamilton  who 
fashioned  the  framework  of  our  government.  In 
his  policy  is  found  the  clearest  expression  of  the 
demands  of  the  dominant  elements  in  the  decades 
immediately  following  the  inauguration  of  the  gov- 


ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION     57 

emment  under  the  Constitution.  Hamilton's  policy 
looked  toward  the  building  up  of  a  strong  nation 
with  excellent  financial  credit.  It  was  the  wealth 
of  the  nation  and  the  stability  of  its  financial  insti- 
tutions which  appealed  to  him,  and  toward  which 
he  directed  the  gaze  of  the  awkward  young  nation. 
The  welfare  of  the  wage  earner  and  his  family  was 
only  an  incidental  consideration.  Wealth  rather 
than  human  welfare  was  the  keynote  of  the  political 
economy  of  the  period.  The  early  use  of  internal 
revenue  taxation  and  the  prompt  employment  of 
troops  in  the  Whiskey  Insurrection  are  indications 
of  the  Hamiltonian  policy  of  building  up  a  strong 
central  government  regardless  of  the  wishes  of  the 
mass  of  the  people. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  who  ably  directed  the  forces 
opposing  the  federalists,  has  been  called  a  democrat 
of  democrats;  but  in  reality  he  was  a  liberal.  Jef- 
ferson, although  he  wrote  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, had  little  in  common  with  the  wage  work- 
ers of  the  period.  He  was  a  representative  of  the 
middle  class, — the  farmer  living  on  a  medium  sized 
farm  and  in  the  upland  district  of  the  South.  The 
rural  community  and  the  local  government  were 
looked  upon  with  favor  by  Jefferson.  Factories, 
commerce,  cities  and  a  wage-earning  class  were 
deemed  undesirable  and  considered  to  be  menaces 
to  a  republican  form  of  government.  "While  we 
have  land  to  labor,"  said  Jefferson,  "then,  let  us 
never  wish  to  see  our  citizens  occupied  at  a  work- 


58  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

bench  or  twirling  a  distaff.  Carpenters,  masons, 
smiths  are  wanting  in  husbandry ;  but,  for  the  gen- 
eral operations  of  manufacture,  let  our  workshops 
remain  in  Europe.  It  is  better  to  carry  provisions 
and  materials  to  workmen  there  than  bring  them  to 
the  provisions  and  materials,  and  with  them  their 
manners  and  principles.  The  loss  by  the  transpor- 
tation of  commodities  across  the  Atlantic  will  be 
made  up  in  the  happiness  and  permanence  of  gov- 
ernment. The  mobs  of  great  cities  add  just  so 
much  to  the  support  of  pure  government,  as  sores 
do  to  the  strength  of  the  human  body."^^ 

Jeffersonian  democracy,  placing  its  emphasis  upon 
laisses  faire  in  the  industrial  world  and  localism  in 
the  political  field,  did  not  exhibit  interest  in  the 
problems  confronting  the  wage  earners  of  that  pe- 
riod. Under  Jeffersonian  democracy,  "there  still 
remained  a  strictly  limited  electorate,  property  quali- 
fications, long  terms  of  office,  and  little  participa- 
tion of  the  people  in  the  election  of  their  officers."  ^* 
Jefferson's  idea  of  liberty  was  of  the  negative  type ; 
it  simply  meant  the  absence  of  legal  restraint.  In 
the  era  of  Jeffersonian  democracy,  notwithstanding, 
strikes  and  organizations  of  labor  were  still  illegal. 
During  his  presidency  the  Philadelphia  cordwainers 
were  convicted  of  conspiracy  and  fined.  The  pas- 
sage of  the  Embargo  Act  by  the  Jeffersonian  party 

"  Beard,  Economic  Origins  of  Jeffersonian  Democracy, 
pp.  424-425- 
"  Merriam,  American  Political  Theories,  p.  175. 


ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION     59 

also  indicated  that  it  was  lacking  in  sympathy  not 
only  for  the  commercial  class  but  also  for  the  wage 
earners  of  the  nation.  This  act  threw  many  out  of 
employment  and  fell  heavily  upon  the  workingmen. 
In  England  also  the  wage-earning  class  was  hard 
hit ;  but  its  protests  were  of  no  avail  in  that  country. 

Nevertheless,  the  triumph  of  Jefferson  on  the 
threshold  of  the  nineteenth  century  gave  an  im- 
petus to  democratic  ideas.  The  aristocratic  Federal- 
ists had  disdained  to  consider  the  small  farmer  and 
the  mechanic ;  but  the  Jeffersonian  democrats,  court- 
nig  the  votes  of  the  middle  class  and  of  the  West 
and  scenting  the  trend  toward  manhood  suffrage, 
soon  began  to  emphasize  the  power  and  worth  of 
public  opinion.  "In  pamphlets  composed  for  the 
farmers  and  mechanics  they  preached  a  crusade 
against  the  'money  power,'  banks,  judges  appointed 
by  the  government,  and  against  all  the  other  aristo- 
cratic institutions,  the  sole  existence  of  which  was 
an  insult  to  the  sovereign  people."  '^^  Thus  began 
the  familiar  catering  to  the  labor  vote  and  the  fre- 
quent use  of  platitudes  and  catch  phrases  intended 
to  beguile  the  enfranchised  wage  earners. 

The  first  real  democrat  to  reach  a  high  political 
office  in  the  United  States  was  Andrew  Jackson, 
and  even  he  represented  the  individualistic  and  neg- 
ative democracy  of  the  frontier  rather  than  the  ur- 
ban democracy  of  the  wageworker.    Jacksonian  de- 

"  Ostro^orski,  Democracy  and  the  Organization  of 
Political  Parties,  vol.  2,  p.  27. 


6o  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

mocracy  was  that  of  small  homogeneous  communi- 
ties; it  represented  the  high  tide  of  crude  individ- 
ualism. The  political  upheaval  which  placed  An- 
drew Jackson  in  the  presidential  chair  may  be  at- 
tributed to  the  same  fundamental  causes  which  led 
to  the  extension  of  the  suffrage  and  to  the  movement 
for  free  tax-supported  schools.  The  westward  mi- 
gration and  the  growth  of  cities  and  of  the  factory 
system  are  the  basic  changes  which  brought  into 
united  activity  two  somewhat  diverse  elements, — 
the  wage  earners  and  the  western  farmers.  This 
unstable  political  combination  augmented  by  the 
southern  plantation  owners  elected  Jackson  and  later 
Van  Buren. 

During  Jackson's  administrations  the  frontiers- 
man dominated  at  Washington.  The  experience  and 
the  environment  of  the  American  pioneer  led  him  to 
emphasize  the  desirability  of  the  laisses  faire  policy. 
The  ideals  of  the  frontiersman  and  those  upheld  by 
the  industrial  wage  earners  are  by  no  means  the 
same;  but  Jackson,  aided  by  skillful  lieutenants,  was 
able  to  gain  and  retain  the  support  of  both  elements 
in  the  population.  As  long  as  the  ever  westward 
moving  frontier  line  exerted  its  potent  influence,  the 
wage  earners'  ideal  of  an  industrial  democracy  in- 
volving strong  government  but  a  government  re- 
sponsive to  the  demands  of  the  common  people,  re- 
mained necessarily  dim  and  indistinct.  Frontier  life 
tended  to  produce  self-reliance  and  dislike  of  gov- 
ernmental restraint.    The  pioneer  scoffed  at  the  in- 


ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION     6r 

signia  of  aristocracy  and  was  distrustful  of  all  pub- 
lic officials.  To  be  "fresh  from  the  people"  was  the 
highest  kind  of  commendation  in  the  eyes  of  the 
self-reliant  American  settler.  With  the  Jacksonian 
era  came  the  familiar  deification  of  the  wisdom  and 
capabilities  of  "the  people," — a  practice  which  poli- 
ticians of  to-day  do  not  neglect. 

The  opposing  political  party  soon  learned  political 
wisdom.  A  few  years  later  it  presented  William 
Henry  Harrison  as  "the  poor  man's  friend"  and  used 
as  a  slogan,  "Tippecanoe  and  no  reduction  of 
wages."  Between  1800  and  1840,  the  wage  earners 
advanced  from  political  nonentity  to  a  position  in 
which  the  political  parties  cajoled  and  placated  them, 
and  occasionally  threw  a  few  crumbs  in  their  direc- 
tion. The  convention  system,  however,  controlled 
by  intricate  party  machinery,  effectively  prevented 
the  mass  of  people  from  accomplishing  anything  of 
importance, — unless  the  opportunity  of  choosing  the 
lesser  of  two  evils  is  worthy  of  being  called  im- 
portant. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  WAGE  EARNER 

The  average  American  is  justly  proud  of  our  pub- 
lic school  system;  the  public  school  is  frequently 
spoken  of  as  the  great  bulwark  of  free  American  in- 
stitutions. If  asked  as  to  the  origin  of  the  public 
school  system,  he  will  unhesitatingly  speak  of  Hor- 
ace Mann,  Henry  Barnard  and  the  New  England 
ministers  as  the  sole  architects  of  our  important  edu- 
cational edifice.  Throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  land  men  pay  tribute  to  these  great  reformers 
as  the  founders  of  the  American  public  school  sys- 
tem. But  recent  investigations,  w^hile  recognizing 
the  importance  of  the  work  of  these  pioneer  educa- 
tors, have  disclosed  another  and  more  potent  force 
which  has  long  been  concealed  from  view.  This 
underlying  force  proceeded  from  the  wage  earners, 
dominated  by  the  bread-and-butter  motive  and  by 
the  desire  to  improve  their  social  and  political  status. 

The  tax-supported  school  first  appeared  in  Amer- 
ica in  early  colonial  New  England.  It  was  intro- 
duced by  the  Puritan  fathers  for  purely  religious 
reasons.  In  early  New  England,  religion  and  edu- 
cation were  inseparably  connected ;  and  religion  and 

62 


THE  FREE  SCHOOL  63 

politics  were  also  very  closely  interwoven.  The  most 
influential  class  in  early  New  England  was  composed 
of  the  ministers,  and  one  of  the  cardinal  religious 
precepts  of  the  period  inculcated  the  idea  that  each 
and  every  individual  member  of  the  congregation 
should  be  able  to  read  and  to  interpret  the  Scriptures. 
This  idea  registered  a  reaction  from  the  Roman 
Catholic  point  of  view.  Since  the  early  New  Eng- 
land settlers  came  across  the  Atlantic  in  congrega- 
tions and  lived  in  town  communities,  crude  indi- 
vidualism was  tempered  somewhat  by  community 
or  congregation  responsibility.  As  a  consequence,  it 
became  one  of  the  prime  duties  of  a  town  or  of  a 
congregation  to  insist  that  all  members  of  the  com- 
munity be  able  to  read,  and,  if  necessary,  to  provide 
through  taxation  for  the  requisite  instruction.  The 
tax-supported  schools  of  early  New  England  were 
the  products  of  middle  class  influence.  These 
schools  did  not  appear  because  of  an  insistent  popu- 
lar demand  and  they  decayed  as  the  religious  ardor 
of  the  New  England  pioneer  cooled. 

As  the  population  increased  and  scattered  over  a 
wider  territory,  as  new  and  less  Puritanical  classes 
of  people  appeared  in  New  England,  a  new  social 
condition  arose.  The  solidarity  so  apparent  in  the 
early  town  became  less  noticeable,  and  the  power  of 
the  religious  leader  waned.  With  the  religious  de- 
clension came  also  an  educational  decline.  The  Rev- 
olution, the  years  of  agitation  preceding  it,  and  the 
long  period  of  readjustment  subsequent  to  the  war, 


64  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

together  with  the  growing  hetereogeneity  of  popu- 
lation, continued  the  movement  until  the  free  school 
system  was  practically  only  a  historical  fact.  In 
Rhode  Island,  a  unique  New  England  colony,  in 
which  the  Puritan  theocracy  never  obtained  a  foot- 
hold, the  tax-supported  public  school  did  not  appear 
until  the  second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  little  remained, 
even  in  Massachusetts,  of  the  early  school  system 
except  an  inherited  belief  in  the  religious  and  civic 
value  of  education. 

The  modern  free  tax-supported  school  originated 
in  the  eventful  period,  1820- 1850.  The  famous  em- 
bargo act  of  Jefferson's  administration  and  the  war 
of  18 1 2  artificially  forced  the  rapid  development 
of  American  manufacture.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
struggle  there  was  a  panic  and  an  industrial  de- 
pression. Long  continued  hard  times  adversely 
affected  the  wage  earners  in  our  then  truly  infant 
industries.  With  the  return  of  business  activity, 
towns,  cities  and  factories  were  enlarged  and  multi- 
plied. Men,  women  and  children  who  had  been  ac- 
customed to  life  in  the  open  country  were  now  gath- 
ered into  the  new  mill  towns  of  New  England. 
Hitherto  unknown  evils,  such  as  child  labor  in  fac- 
tories and  juvenile  delinquency,  began  to  make  their 
unexpected  appearance  among  the  social  problems  of 
the  new  nation. 

The  modem  wage  earner  then  appeared  for  the 
first  time  on  the  American  political  and  social  hori- 


THE  FREE  SCHOOL  65 

zon.  Massed  together  in  growing  cities  and  towns, 
opportunities  were  not  lacking  for  organization  and 
agitation.  The  long  and  spectacular  struggle  be- 
tween the  conservatives  of  the  Atlantic  coast  region 
and  the  turbulent  and  individualistic  frontiersmen 
of  the  uplands  and  the  backwoods  had  finally  forced 
the  abolition  in  most  of  the  Northern  States  of  the 
old  religious  and  property  qualifications  for  the  exer- 
cise of  the  suffrage.  As  is  indicated  in  a  later  chap- 
ter, at  a  propitious  time  the  democratic  frontiers- 
man placed  the  ballot  in  the  hands  of  the  newly  cre- 
ated class  of  factory  and  town  wage  earners;  and 
the  workingmen's  ballots  gave  the  nation  its  free 
school  system. 

The  concept  of  universal  and  free  education  as 
a  powerful  economic  and  social  engine  did  not  arise 
to  a  prominent  place  in  the  social  consciousness  un- 
til the  wage  earner  became  an  important  factor  in 
political  life.  A  demand  for  free,  tax-supported, 
public  schools  appears  when  and  where  the  work- 
ingmen  have  the  ballot.  In  the  period,  1820- 1850, 
the  principle  of  the  free  school  system  was  firmly 
established  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  United 
States.  Education  was  permanently  transferred 
from  a  charity  or  rate  foundation  to  a  tax-sup- 
ported basis,  and  it  was  completely  severed  from 
religious  control. 

New  and  unusual  social  and  industrial  conditions 
ever  breed  evils,  apparent  and  real,  and  foster  dis- 
content and  unrest.     In  the  cities  and  the  factory 


'66  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

towns  of  this  period  the  workers  felt  that  the  times 
were  awry;  and  with  the  childUke  faith  of  Utopia 
builders  they  looked  hopefully  for  a  panacea  for 
the  ills  chey  suffered.  Wherever  the  New  England 
man  went  he  was  an  enthusiast  for  education;  he 
said  that  education  would  benefit  the  workers. 
"Equality  among  men  results  only  from  education" ; 
"the  educated  man  is  a  good  citizen,  the  unedu- 
cated an  undesirable  member  of  the  body  politic." 
These  were  some  of  the  oft-repeated  phrases  which 
came  from  many  sources  to  the  anxious  and  hope- 
ful wage  earners.  Then  at  the  very  moment  when 
organized  labor  was  preparing  for  its  first  struggle 
on  a  large  scale  for  justice  and  for  a  higher  stand- 
ard of  living,  the  most  uncompromising  of  all  Amer- 
ican educational  enthusiasts  thrust  himself  before 
the  eager,  anxious  and  discontented  workers  with 
this  oft-repeated  slogan:  "I  believe  in  a  National 
System  of  Equal,  Republican,  Protective,  Practical 
Education,  the  sole  regenerator  of  a  profligate  age 
and  the  only  redeemer  of  our  suffering  country 
from  the  equal  curses  of  chilling  poverty  and  cor- 
rupting riches,  of  gnawing  want  and  destroying 
debauchery,  of  blind  ignorance  and  of  unprincipled 
intrigue.  By  this,  my  creed,  I  will  live.  By  my 
consistency  with  this,  my  professed  belief,  I  claim 
to  be  judged.  By  it  I  will  stand  or  fall."  Thus  did 
Robert  Dale  Owen,  animated  by  the  faith  of  his 
father — Robert  Owen,  the  English  philanthropist 
•and    Utopian   socialist — sound   a    cry   which   was 


THE  FREE  SCHOOL  67 

echoed  and  reechoed  in  the  many  mass  meetings  of 
workingmen  in  the  eventful  years  of  the  twenties 
and  thirties  of  the  last  century.^ 

Suddenly,  almost  without  warning,  the  anxious, 
disturbed  mass  of  toiling  humanity  was  touched 
by  the  almost  monotonous  repetition  of  the  idea 
that  education  is  essential  for  equality  and  for  good 
citizenship.  Free,  equal,  practical,  republican  edu- 
cation became  the  shibboleth  of  the  workers.  From 
1828  to  1832  or  1833,  workingmen's  meetings  from 
Albany  and  Boston  on  the  north  to  Wilmington 
and  Charleston  on  the  south,  took  up  the  cry.  In- 
deed, the  American  people  have  been  prone  to  adopt 
watchwords  and  shibboleths.  Many  Americans 
have  enthusiastically  rallied  around  the  banners 
of  manhood  suffrage,  equal  suffrage,  free  home- 
steads, free  silver,  the  single  tax  and  so- 
cialism, implicitly  believing  that  the  panacea 
for  all  social  ills  had  at  last  been  discovered  in  one 
of  these  reforms.  But  the  greatest  of  all  these  slo- 
gans has  been:  Free  education  for  all  children. 
More  Americans  have  marched  under  the  resplen- 
dent banner  of  the  free  school  than  have  followed 
the  leaders  who  raised  standard*  on  which  were 
inscribed  free  homesteads  or  free  silver. 

In  order  to  present  clearly  and  definitely  the  at- 
titude of  the  wage  earners  of  this  period  toward 
free  schools,  a  few  typical  resolutions  and  declara- 

*  Carlton,  "Robert  Owen— Educator."  The  School  Re- 
view, 1910,  vol.  17,  pp.  186-191. 


68  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

tions  from  various  cities  will  be  selected  from  the 
mass  of  such  material.  At  a  meeting  of  working- 
men  held  in  New  York  City  in  November,  1829, 
resolutions  were  adopted  which  read  in  part  as 
follows:  "Resolved,  that  the  most  grievous  species 
of  inequality  is  that  produced  by  inequality  in  edu- 
cation, and  that  a  national  system  of  education  and 
guardianship  which  shall  furnish  to  all  children 
of  the  land,  equal  food,  clothing  and  instruction  at 
public  expense  is  the  only  effectual  remedy  for  this 
and  for  almost  every  other  species  of  injustice.  Re- 
solved, that  all  other  modes  of  reform  are,  com- 
pared to  this,  particular,  inefficient  and  trifling."  A 
workingmen's  meeting  in  Philadelphia  on  Septem- 
ber 26,  1829,  adopted  a  preamble  which  contained 
the  following  clause:  "No  system  of  education, 
which  a  freeman  can  accept,  has  yet  been  established 
for  the  poor;  whilst  thousands  of  dollars  of  the 
public  money  have  been  appropriated  for  building 
colleges  and  academies  for  the  rich." 

At  New  Castle,  Delaware,  in  1830,  an  Associa- 
tion of  Workingmen  was  formed.  In  the  preamble 
of  their  constitution  appeared  this  sentiment:  "Let 
us  unite  at  the  polls  and  give  our  votes  to  no  candi- 
date who  is  not  pledged  to  support  a  rational  sys- 
tem of  education  to  be  paid  for  out  of  the  public 
funds,  and  to  further  a  rightful  protection  to  the 
laborer."  A  meeting  of  "Workingmen,  Mechanics, 
and  others  friendly  to  their  interests."  held  in  Bos- 
ton in  1830,  resolved  "that  the  establishment  of  a 


THE  FREE  SCHOOL  69 

liberal  system  of  education,  attainable  by  all,  should 
be  among  the  first  efforts  of  every  lawgiver  who  de- 
sires the  continuance  of  our  national  independence." 
In  1 83 1,  in  the  first  number  of  a  labor  paper  pub- 
lished in  Indianapolis,  the  editor  declared:  "But 
what  shall  claim  our  particular  attention  will  be 
a  system  of  Public,  Republican,  Scientific,  Prac- 
tical Education  for  the  Poor  as  well  as  for  the 
Rich,  looking  to  the  Treasury  of  the  Nation  for  a 
part  of  the  surplus  revenue  to  carry  it  into  effect." 
The  workingmen  of  the  nation  early  understood 
that  the  benefits  of  a  public  school  system  were 
great;  and  their  influence  w^as  an  important  factor 
in  hastening  the  development  of  the  system.  A 
careful  study  of  the  early  growth  of  the  free  school 
system  in  various  States — Massachusetts,  Connecti- 
cut, Rhode  Island,  Vermont,  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Delaware,  Ohio — and  the  absence  of  a  free 
school  system  in  the  slaveholding  South,  confirm  the 
statement  that  we  are  in  no  small  measure  indebted 
to  the  wage  earner  for  our  public  school  system.^ 
Before  1850,  the  cities  and  the  workingmen,  aided 
by  a  devoted  group  of  humanitarian  leaders  among 
whom  were  Horace  Mann  and  Robert  Dale  Owen, 
were  potent  forces  favoring  free  public  schools.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  rural  districts,  the  men  of  wealth 
and  the  employers  were  rarely  friendly  to  this  im- 

'  Carlton,  Economic  Influences  upon  Educational  Prog' 
ress,  in  the  United  States,  1820-1850.  Bulletin  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin,  1908. 


70  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

portant  American  institution.  The  organized 
workers  of  1828  to  1836  dreamed  that  the  general 
establishment  of  free  pubHc  schools  would  quickly 
and  surely  evolve  a  social  Utopia. 

By  1850,  the  free  school  system  was  firmly  es- 
tablished in  the  northern  portion  of  the  United 
States.  For  the  next  quarter  of  a  century,  the  slav- 
ery agitation,  the  Civil  War  and  the  Reconstruction 
absorbed  the  attention  of  all.  The  Civil  War  marks 
the  opening  of  an  important  epoch  in  the  history  of 
education  in  the  United  States  as  well  as  in  Amer- 
ican industrial  history.  The  educational  functions 
of  the  home  and  of  the  shop  were  reduced;  and  a 
demand  appeared  that  the  functions  of  the  school 
be  enlarged  so  as  to  include  industrial  or  vocational 
training,  and  that  the  school  become  a  factor  in 
developing  the  industrial  capabilities  of  the  youth. 
Later,  with  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century, 
came  a  host  of  new  educational  projects, — the  use 
of  the  schools  as  social  centers,  playgrounds,  vaca- 
tion schools,  vocational  instruction  in  continuation 
schools,  medical  inspection  in  the  schools,  feeding 
school  children,  and  so  on  through  a  long  list.^ 

The  early  platforms  of  the  American  Federation' 
of  Labor  contained  a  demand  for  compulsory  edu- 
cation. In  recent  years,  the  Federation  has  fa- 
vored university  extension  work  in  order  that  the 
benefits  of  higher  education  or  special  training  may 
be  brought  to  men  and  women  in  all  walks  of  life*. 

*  Carlton,  Education  and  Industrial  Evolution,  c.  14. 


THE  FREE  SCHOOL  71 

The  methods  employed  by  the  University  of  Wis^ 
consin  were  especially  recommended.*  The  three 
representatives  of  labor  on  the  Federal  Commission, 
on  Industrial  Relations  recommended  the  establish- 
ment of  day  vocational  schools,  compulsory  contin- 
uation schools  and  night  vocational  schools.^  At- 
the  present  time,  the  interest  of  organized  labor  in 
the  field  of  education  is  directed  chiefly  toward  two. 
matters:  (i)  The  scope  and  administration  of  vo- 
cational education;  and  (2)  the  right  of  the  teach-, 
ers  to  organize. 

Too  many  employers  to-day  are  urging  a  narrow 
practical  standard  of  education  for  the  great  mass 
of  children.  This  influential  group  apparently  de- 
sires workers  with  a  restricted  outlook  upon  the 
world  and  its  problems ;  workers  are  demanded  who, 
will  easily  and  patiently  fit  into  the  highly  special- 
ized industry  of  the  present.  A  systematic  effort 
is  being  made  to  convert  the  public  schools,  or  at 
least  certain  departments  of  the  educational  sys^ 
tem,  into  schools  for  apprentices.  Organized  labor^ 
on  the  other  hand,  is  insisting  upon  a  broader  con- 
cept of  education  for  the  masses.  It  is  demanding 
that  the  school  shall  not  be  used  to  break  down  the 
power  of  labor  organizations,  and  that  our  educa-^ 
tional  system  shall  aim  to  develop  thinking,  rather 

*See  Report  of  Proceedings  of  Annual  Convention^ 

1913. 

Report,  1915,  p.  269. 


72  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

than  automatic,  workers,  and,  lastly,  that  the  school 
shall  train  for  citizenship. 

The  practical  ideal  of  many  short-sighted  em- 
ployers would  make  the  school  a  mere  trade  school ; 
the  social  ideal  upheld  by  the  leaders  of  organized 
labor  and  by  many  educators  demands  that  the 
school  become  an  engine  for  improving  human  be- 
ings, for  developing  men  and  women  who  will  be 
more  than  cogs  in  our  great  industrial  mechanism. 
The  former  calls  fojr  a  standardized  product;  the 
latter  insists  upon  an  individualized  output.  The 
adherents  of  the  practical  ideal  are  insistent  in  urg- 
ing the  claims  of  a  "business  administration."  Now, 
the  chief  merits  of  a  business  administration  in 
a  factory,  a  store  or  a  school  is  found  in  a  reduc- 
tion of  the  expenses  of  production;  and  this  result 
is  normally  accomplished  by  standardizing  meth- 
ods, processes  and  output.  According  to  both  edu- 
cators and  organized  labor,  the  fundamental  ques- 
tion in  regard  to  this  matter  is :  Can  the  United 
States  properly  conserve  and  develop  its  human  re- 
sources without  insisting  that  our  schools  send  out 
into  the  world  an  individualized  product?  And  to 
this  question,  labor  returns  a  negative  answer. 

The  struggle  which  is  now  going  on  for  the  con- 
trol of  the  American  educational  system  is  a  very- 
significant  one.  If  education  becomes  a  factory 
industry,  if  economy,  system  and  the  immediate 
needs  of  industry  become  the  leading  educational 
ideals,  then  will  the  public  school  system  lose  much 


THE  FREE  SCHOOL  73 

of  its  value  as  a  democratizing  element  in  our  civ- 
ilization. If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  school  develops 
into  a  studio,  citizenship  and  racial  efficiency  rather 
than  technical  skill,  will  become  watchwords.  Our 
educational  system  may  then  become  a  potent  in- 
strumentality in  the  hands  of  an  alert  democracy 
to  break  down  social  and  economic  inequality,  and 
education  may  attain  its  true  position  as  the  servant 
of  sociology — the  science  of  social  progress.  Or- 
ganized labor  has  reason  to  oppose  bitterly  the  com- 
mercialization of  education;  and  recent  events  in- 
dicate that  it  is  awake  to  the  importance  of  the 
problems  connected  with  the  vocational  training  of 
the  youth.^  The  demand  for  vocational  education 
and  for  vocational  guidance  is  coming  in  part  from 
the  wage  earners  themselves;  but  they  are  insisting 
in  no  uncertain  manner  that  it  shall  not  be  controlled 
and  guided  by  any  one  group  or  class  in  the  com- 
munity. 

Organized  labor  is  bitterly  opposed  to  the  dual 
system  of  control.  Under  that  system,  the  voca- 
tion and  continuation  schools  are  placed  under  a 
separate  board  quite  distinct  from  the  board  which 
directs  the  remainder  of  the  public  school  system. 
Recently  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  has 
given  expression  to  its  position  in  very  definite  lan- 
guage.    "Perhaps  the  most  vicious  element  threat- 

*  See  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organised 
Labor,  pp.  460-462;  Carlton,  The  Industrial  Situation,  c 
4- 


74  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ening  to  divert  the  movement  of  industrial  educa- 
tion in  our  public  schools  from  our  American  ideals 
of  democracy  in  education  is  the  continuous  effort 
made  by  the  commercial  interests  to  place  indus- 
trial education  under  the  direction  of  a  distinctive 
board  of  management,  separate  from  the  board  of 
administration  governing  the  general  education  of 
the  children,  A  division  and  separation  of  author- 
ity in  educational  studies,  we  believe,  estabHshes  a 
division  of  educational  systems  in  the  minds  of  the 
school  children  and  their  parents,  wherein  indus- 
trial education,  instead  of  proving  supplementary 
to  our  general  education,  will  be  looked  upon  as 
the  main  and  most  important  public  system  of  edu- 
cation. Vocational  school  courses  should  at  all 
times  be  under  the  guidance  and  control  of  school 
authorities  having  control  of  the  general  education 
of  the  children.  The  unit  system  of  administra- 
tion is  best  adapted  to  educating  our  children  prop- 
erly for  their  future  guidance  as  citizens  and  as 
workers."  '^  And  one  year  later  the  same  body  laid 
emphasis  "upon  the  urgent  need  for  labor  represen- 
tation on  city  school  boards,  state  boards  of  educa- 
tion, and  last,  but  not  least,  on  the  governing  boards 
of  our  state-owned  universities."  ^ 

One  of  the  most  recent  and  most  significant  steps 

''Report  of  Proceedings  of  the  Convention,  1915,  p. 
323- 

*  Report  of  Proceedings  of  the  Convention,  1916,  p.  349. 
See  also  Report  of  Proceedings  of  the  Convention,  1917, 
p.  414- 


THE  FREE  SCHOOL  75 

in  educational  progress  is  to  be  found  in  the  demand 
which  is  voiced  by  certain  teachers  in  our  larger 
cities  for  democracy  in  the  administration  of  edu- 
cational affairs.  The  teacher  is  a  wage  earner ;  but 
until  recent  years  no  effective  efforts  have  been 
made  to  weld  teachers  into  organizations  resembling 
trade  unions.  Of  course,  one  reason  for  this  some- 
what anomalous  situation  has  been  the  preponder- 
ance of  women  in  the  occupation;  and  another  is 
the  nature  of  the  work.  Opposition  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  teachers  into  associations  of  the  trade  union 
type  has,  as  might  be  expected,  promptly  made  its 
appearance  notably  in  Cleveland,  New  York  and 
Chicago.  Nevertheless,  in  May,  19 16,  the  Amer- 
ican Federation  issued  a  national  charter  to  the 
American  Federation  of  Teachers.  According  to 
Mr.  Gompers,  "organization  of  teachers  is  encourag- 
ing not  only  because  of  its  influence  upon  the  de- 
mocracy of  the  country  but  for  the  dynamic  influ- 
ence it  will  have  upon  education  and  the  spirit  of 
the  public  schools."  ^  Since  the  teachers  are  pub- 
lic employees,  the  dispute  over  the  organization  of 
school  teachers  is  a  phase  of  the  broader  question 
concerning  the  right  of  public  employees  to  form 
unions  and  to  use  the  weapons  of  labor  organiza- 
tions. The  recently  organized  American  Associa- 
tion of  University  Professors  has  some  of  the  ear- 
marks of  a  labor  organization. 

In  the  not  distant  future,  however,  public  school 
'American  Federationist,  June,  191 6,  p.  478. 


'^(i  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

teachers  as  an  organized  body  of  wage  earners  may- 
be expected  to  protest,  and  to  protest  vigorously 
and  effectively,  against  too  great  emphasis  upon 
red  tape  and  autocratic  methods  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  public  school  system.  They  are  begin- 
ning to  demand  that  they  be  given  some. voice  in  the 
determination  of  the  methods  to  be  used,  in  the 
choice  of  the  tests  of  efficiency  to  be  applied  to  the 
teachers,  and  in  the  appointment  of  various  ad- 
ministrative officials  of  the  school  system.  In  the 
words  of  one  of  the  advocates  of  democracy  in 
school  administration :  "If  we  must  have  the  over- 
man whose  business  it  should  be  to  express  opinions, 
let  him  be  exalted  by  the  act  of  his  fellows,  pro- 
vided he  will  return  to  the  ranks  when  his  term 
of  office  is  finished,  and  become  as  one  of  them." 
This  is  a  radical,  but  not  an  unreasonable,  demand. 
It,  however,  asks  for  a  reversal  of  recent  tendencies 
in  school  administration ;  and  it  is  distinctly  a  work- 
ing class  demand. 

The  wage  earners  of  the  nation  have  made  no 
mistake  in  emphasizing  the  importance  of  universal 
education.  Education  and  true  democracy  must  go 
hand  in  hand.  But  educational  facilities  alone  are 
insufficient.  The  long  working  day,  over-driving, 
sweating  in  all  its  varied  forms,  and  gainful  child 
labor  make  it  impossible  for  wage  earners  as  a  class 
to  take  advantage  in  any  efficient  manner  of  edu- 
cational facilities.  Democracy  in  its  true  form  must 
rest  upon  the  foundations  of  a  short  working  day. 


THE  FREE  SCHOOL  77 

sanitary  home  and  working  environment,  and  the 
limitation  of  child  labor.  Educational  facilities  plus 
opportunities  for  all  to  utilize  such  facilities  are  es- 
sential to  progress  toward  democracy  and  toward 
the  uplift  of  the  masses. 


CHAPTER  V 
LAND  REFORM  AND   THE  WAGE  EARNER 

From  the  earliest  colonial  times,  large  land 
grants  were  made  to  favored  individuals.  Since 
that  time  many  large  and  valuable  holdings  of  farm 
lands,  timber  lands,  coal  lands,  mineral  lands  and 
water  rights  have  been  acquired  by  individuals  and 
corporations  at  a  low  price  or  by  gift  from  the  gov- 
ernment, in  various  ways  ranging  from  fair  pur- 
chase to  fraud  and  bribery.  The  most  valuable 
portion  of  the  great  mass  of  America's  colossal 
area  of  public  lands  passed  originally  by  means  of 
land  grants  or  fair  or  fraudulent  purchase  into  the 
hands  of  a  comparatively  small  number  of  indi- 
viduals and  corporations.^ 

In  colonial  days,  land  grants  were  made  pri- 
marily for  the  purpose  of  stimulating  settlement  or 
to  reward  royal  favorites.  Many  of  the  promoters 
of  the  colonial  period  were  great  land  speculators. 
Just  before  the  opening  of  the  War  for  Independ- 
ence, England  became  aware  of  the  possibilities  of 

*For  unsympathetic  accounts  of  our  public  land  policy 
see  Myers,  History  of  Great  American  Fortunes,  vol.  2, 
c.  I ;  Henry  George,  Our  Land  and  Land  Policy.  See  also 
Howe,  The  High  Cost  of  Living,  c.  i8. 

78 


LAND  REFORM  79 

selling  land  for  revenue  purposes;  and  several  of 
the  colonies  also  adopted  the  policy  of  selling  pub- 
lic lands  at  auction.  State  lands  were  likewise  dis- 
posed of  in  1784-85.^  As  a  consequence,  the  wage 
earners  of  the  colonial  period  were  denied  access 
to  much  of  the  best  land.  Particularly  in  the  pro- 
prietary colonies  was  it  difficult  for  the  poorer 
classes  to  obtain  land.  The  lai:d  laws  of  colonial 
times  and  of  the  first  decades  after  the  Revolution 
were  unfavorable  to  the  workingmen.  "Laborers 
were  absolutely  prevented  from  acquiring  public 
lands;  whilst  hundreds  of  tliousands  of  acres  in 
separate  lots  became  the  property  of  capitalists  and 
corporations  who  either  kept  them  for  themselves, 
or  else  resold  them  with  great  profits  to  the  colo- 
nists." ^  A  few  decades  later  in  the  West  our  land 
poHcy  did  not  in  practice  favor  actual  settlers.  "The 
Act  of  March  3,  1853,  admitted  California  lands 
to  preemption,  with  all  its  opportunities  for  fraud 
and  land  grabbing,  from  which  California  suffered 
along  with  other  parts  of  the  West."  * 

In  Virginia,  "as  early  as  1636  there  was  at  least 
one  estate  of  ten  thousand  acres;  after  1650  grants 
of  ten  and  even  of  twenty  thousand  acres  were  not 
uncommon."  '^     At  the  time  of  his  death,  George 

'  Ford,  Colonial  Precedents  of  Our  National  Land  Sys^ 
tern  as  it  Existed  in  1800,  pp.  85-89. 

*  Rabbeno,  American  Commercial  Policy,  p.  177. 

*  Young,  The  Single  Tax  Movement  in  the  United 
States,  p.  34.  See  also  Hill,  The  Public  Domain  and  De- 
mocracy, p.  46;  Donaldson,  The  Public  Domain,  p.  220. 

'Channing,  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i,  p.  525. 


8o  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Washington  probably  owned  over  70,000  acres  of 
land.  The  Byrd  estate  in  Virginia  contained  in  the 
eighteenth  century  about  180,000  acres.  The  best 
land  in  colonial  New  York  was  parceled  out  among 
a  small  group  of  large  landowners  called  patroons. 
"The  expectation  probably  was  that  great  landed 
estates  would  come  into  being  which  would  be  cul- 
tivated by  tenants,  who  would  be  assisted  in  their 
labors  by  slaves,  the  profitable  fur  trade  with  the 
natives  being-  retained  by  the  company  and  by  those 
residing  within  the  company's  reservation  at  Man- 
hattan." ®  Consequently,  the  most  valuable  lands 
around  New  York  and  on  the  Hudson  were  soon 
controlled  by  a  few  owners.  Even  in  New  England, 
a  few  men  obtained  the  ownership  of  vast  areas  of 
land.  General  Knox  of  Revolutionary  fame,  for 
example,  became  in  1 792  the  owner  of  a  large  estate 
in  Maine  comprising  the  present  counties  of  Waldo 
and  Knox,''  One  of  the  younger  states,  California, 
presents  to-day  conditions  in  regard  to  land  owner- 
ship not  unlike  that  in  the  East  in  the  eighteenth 
century.  "One  firm  owns  nearly  one  million  acres ; 
one  railway  owns  500,000  acres.  In  Kern  County 
four  companies  own  over  1,000,000  acres,  or  more 
than  half  the  land  in  private  ownership.  The  Kern 
County  Land  Company  alone  owns  356,000  acres. 
In  Merced  County,  Miller  and  Lux  own  245,000 

*Channing,  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i,  p.  448. 
*  Ford,  Colonial  Precedents  of  Our  National  Lafui  Sys- 
tem, pp.  135-139. 


LAND  REFORM  8i 

acres.  The  evils  of  such  ownership  are  every  year 
becoming  more  apparent."  ®  The  evils  connected 
with  land  speculation  and  the  ownership  of  large 
tracts  of  land  in  California  furnished  the  economic 
background  for  Henry  George's  famous  book, 
Progress  and  Poverty.'^ 

After  the  separation  from  England  and  after  the 
various  states  had  ceded  their  western  lands  to  the 
central  government,  the  method  of  disposing  of  the 
public  lands  west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains  be- 
came a  matter  calling  for  Congressional  action. 
The  national  policy  adopted  by  the  federal  govern- 
ment made  the  disposal  of  the  public  lands  a  source 
of  revenue.  This  policy  was  adhered  to  rigidly  un- 
til about  1840  and  nominally  until  the  Homestead 
Act  was  passed  in  1862.  The  act  of  1785,  passed 
by  Congress  acting  under  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, was  the  basis  for  future  land  legislation. 
It  applied  to  certain  lands  located  north  of  the  Ohio 
river.  The  land  was  to  be  surveyed  into  townships. 
Every  alternate  township  was  to  be  disposed  of  as 
a  whole.  The  remainder  was  to  be  divided  into 
sections  of  640  acres;  but  no  tract  of  less  than  640 
acres  was  to  be  sold.  The  land  was  to  be  offered 
for  sale  at  auction  at  a  price  not  less  than  one  dol- 
lar per  acre.  The  expenses  of  surveying  were  to 
be  paid  by  the  purchaser.     A  settler  must  under 

*  Report  of  Commission  on  Land  Colonization  and  Rural 
Credits  of  the  State  of  California,  191 6,  p.  7. 
'First  published  in  1879. 


82  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

this  law  be  prepared  to  pay  in  cash  at  least  $640  in 
order  to  purchase  a  farm, — a  very  considerable  sum 
for  the  poor  man  of  that  period.  But  the  govern- 
ment needed  money  badly.  Presently,  the  land  was 
sold  in  large  amounts  to  land  companies,  "who 
were  ready  to  supply  the  treasury  with  appreciable 
sums  of  money."  ^°  The  Ohio  Company  obtained, 
in  1787,  at  a  very  low  price  over  four  million  acres 
of  land.  All  but  one  and  one-half  million  acres 
were  turned  over  to  another  "company"  composed 
of  influential  Congressmen  and  their  friends.^^ 

The  first  act  after  the  Constitution  was  adopted 
relating  to  the  public  lands  was  passed  in  1796. 
It  provided  for  sales  at  public  auction  at  a  price  not 
less  than  two  dollars  per  acre.  No  sales  of  less 
than  640  acres  were  to  be  made.  The  credit  sys- 
tem was  introduced,  and  only  a  small  part  of  the 
total  payment  was  required  at  the  time  of  sale.  This 
act  was  slightly  amended  in  1800.  The  acts  of 
1785,  1796  and  1800  were  distinctly  favorable  to 
the  men  with  capital.  Men  of  small  financial  re- 
sources had  little  opportunity  to  purchase  land  di- 
rectly from  the  government  of  the  United  States. 
The  act  of  1820  was  more  favorable  to  the  man  pos- 
sessing little  capital.  The  minimum  price  of  land 
was  fixed   at  $1.25   per  acre;   and   the  minimum 

"  Schafer,  The  Origin  of  the  System  of  Land  Grants  for 
Education,  p.  40. 

"West,  American  History  and  Government,  pp.  267-8; 
Bassett,  A  Short  History  of  the  United  States,  p.  232. 


LAND  REFORM  83 

amount  to  be  sold  to  one  purchaser  was  reduced  to 
eighty  acres.    The  credit  system  was  abolished. 

At  least  four  epochs  may  be  discerned  in  the  agi- 
tation for  land  reform  in  the  United  States:  i.  Be- 
fore 1840.  Land  sales  were  made  for  the  purpose 
of  increasing  the  revenue  of  the  government.  The 
opposition  to  this  policy  on  the  part  of  the  work- 
ingmen  began  about  1829.  2.  1840- 1862.  The 
agitation  of  the  workingmen  aided  by  humanitarian 
leaders,  and,  finally,  by  the  employers  of  the  East, 
forced  the  adoption  of  the  Homestead  Act.  3. 
1866-1872.  Opposition  to  land  grants  to  railways. 
4.   1879-     Single-tax  agitation. 

During  the  early  portion  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury the  eastern  portion  of  the  country  favored  a 
high  minimum  price  for  public  land  because  it 
tended  to  check  the  migration  of  wage  earners  from 
the  East  to  the  West,  and  thus  helped  to  keep  wages 
at  a  low  level.  The  land  speculator  advocated  the 
sale  of  land  in  large  tracts.  Sales  at  a  high  mini- 
mum price  and  in  large  tracts  also  gave  the  gov- 
ernment the  maximum  amount  of  revenue  from  the 
public  domain.  The  poor,  would-be  pioneer  and 
those  who  desired  to  see  orderly  settlement  de- 
manded low  prices  for  public  land  and  the  sale  of 
small  sections.  The  protective  tariff  policy  of  the 
early  period  of  our  national  history  was  bound 
up  w^ith  a  land  policy  which  united  both  agricultural 
and  manufacturing  interests.     On  the  one  hand,  it 


84  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

excluded  laborers  from  the  soil;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  left  the  field  open  for  large  srale  specula- 
tion in  agricultural  land.^^  Later  the  South  came 
to  oppose  a  liberal  land  policy  because  such  a  policy 
tended  to  prevent  the  extension  of  slave  territory. 
Almost  as  soon  as  labor  organizations  began  to  be 
formed,  the  wage  earners  started  to  agitate  against 
the  land  policy  of  the  government;  and  they  were 
important  factors  in  forcing  the  passage  of  the 
Homestead  Act, — the  most  important  piece  of  na- 
tional legislation  in  regard  to  the  disposal  of  the 
public  domain. 

At  a  mass  meeting  held  on  April  29,  1829,  at 
which  was  taken  the  first  step  in  the  organization 
of  the  Workingmen's  Party  of  New  York  City, 
resolutions  were  adopted,  among  others,  condemn- 
ing the  private  ownership  of  land  and  the  heredi- 
tary transmission  of  property.  The  adoption  of 
these  resolutions  was  doubtless  due  to  the  influence 
of  a  mechanic  named  Thomas  Skidmore,  The  fa- 
mous labor  paper  of  the  time.  The  Working  Man's 
Advocate,  appeared  soon  after.  In  the  first  num- 
ber the  following  motto  appeared  immediately  be- 
low the  title.  "All  children  are  entitled  to  equal 
education;  all  adults,  to  equal  property;  and  all 
mankind  to  equal  privileges."  Soon  after  Skid- 
more's  influence  diminished;  and  the  motto  was 
changed.     The  demand   for  equality   of  property 

"Rabbeno,  American  Commercial  Policy,  p.  177. 


LAND  REFORM  85 

was  omitted.^'  Thomas  Skidmore  was  probably  the 
first  American  agrarian.^*  His  book,  Ri-ghts  of 
Man  to  Property,  issued  in  1829,  is  worthy  of 
notice  because  it  was  written  by  an  American  work- 
ingman.  He  formed  no  communities;  and  he  was 
not,  hke  Robert  Owen,  the  founder  of  the  New 
Harmony  Community  in  Indiana,  and  other  expo- 
nents of  Utopian  sociaHsm,  a  member  of  the  middle 
class. 

At  the  time  when  Robert  Dale  Owen,  the  son  of 
Robert  Owen,  and  many  other  enthusiastic  reform- 
ers were  vociferously  proclaiming  that  free  and 
universal  education  was  the  unfailing  cure  for  all 
social  ills,  Skidmore  in  his  much  neglected  book 
declared  that  equal  division  of  property  was  the 
first  and  most  essential  step.  He  urged  the  aboli- 
tion of  inheritance  and  the  prohibition  of  gifts  of 
large  amounts  of  property.  The  property  of  the 
deceased  during  a  given  year  was  to  be  divided 
among  those  coming  of  age  during  the  same  year. 
Children  from  birth  to  maturity  were  to  receive  a 
sufficient  amount  from  the  state  to  provide  "full 
and  decent  maintenance,  according  to  age  and  con- 
dition." The  education  of  the  young  was  to  be 
provided  for  at  public  expense.  Inequality  in  so- 
cial and  economic  conditions  rendered,  he  said, 
"public  schools  in  a  measure  abortive."   In  the  writ- 

'*  Carlton,  Political  Science  Quarterly,  1907,  vol.  22,  pp. 
402-404. 

"  Perhaps  Thomas  Paine  should  be  designated  the  first 
American  asfrarian. 


86  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ings  of  this  radical  workingman  are  foreshadowed 
many  problems  which  are  to-day  of  vital  impor- 
tance, such  as  the  taxation  of  inheritances,  feeding- 
school  children,  paying  children  to  attend  school, 
and  workingmen's  compensation.  "Feed  first  the 
hungry;  clothe  first  the  naked,  or  ill-clad;  provide 
comfortable  homes  for  all;  by  hewing  down  colossal 
estates  among  us  and  equalizing  all  property;  take 
care  that  the  animal  wants  be  supplied  first;  that 
even  the  apprehension  of  want  be  banished ;  and 
then  you  will  have  a  good  field  and  good  subjects 
for  education.  Then  will  instruction  be  conveyed, 
without  obstacle;  for  the  wants,  the  unsatisfied 
wants,  of  the  body  will  not  interfere  with  it."  Such 
was  the  philosophy  of  this  American  workingman 
in  the  third  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

George  H.  Evans  was  the  editor  of  The  Working 
Man's  Advocate.  He  doubtless  saw  that  a  scheme 
for  an  equal  distribution  of  land  would  mean  a 
frontal  attack  upon  vested  rights,  and  lead  in  turn 
to  violent  opposition  to  the  new  workingmen's 
party.  "But  there  was  an  immense  area  still  be- 
longing to  the  people  and  not  yet  divided.  This 
was  the  public  domain.  There  man's  equal  right 
to  land  could  be  asserted.  He  sent  marked  copies 
of  his  paper  to  Andrew  Jackson  in  1832,  before 
Jackson's  message  on  the  sale  of  public  lands."  ^' 
The  workingmen's   party  soon   disappeared.      But 

"  Commons.  Political  Science  Ouartcrlv,  1909,  vol.  24,, 
p.  478. 


LAND  REFORM  8/ 

the  rising  prices  of  the  thirties  produced  an  extraor- 
dinary development  of  unionism  which  in  turn  van- 
ished amid  the  chaos  following  the  panic  of  1837. 
"The  workingmen  were  bottled  up  in  the  cities. 
Land  speculation  kept  them  from  taking  up  vacant 
land  near  by  or  in  the  West.  If  they  could  only 
get  away  and  take  up  land,  then  they  would  not 
need  to  strike.  Labor  would  become  scarce.  Em- 
ployers would  advance  wages  and  landlords  would 
reduce  rents.  Not  for  the  sake  of  those  who  moved 
West  did  Evans  advocate  freedom  of  the  public 
lands,  but  for  the  sake  of  those  who  remained 
East."  ^^  In  short,  he  advocated  a  liberal  land  pol- 
icy for  the  sake  of  the  wage  earners  of  the  East. 
The  National  Trades  Assembly,  representing  or- 
ganized labor  from  many  towns  and  cities,  in  1834 
opposed  the  sale  of  public  lands.  *Tn  1833,  a  me- 
morial of  a  'Portion  of  the  Laboring  Classes'  of 
New  York  City  demanded  that,  among  other  meas- 
ures, a  settled  policy  should  be  put  in  force  that  the 
whole  of  the  remaining  public  lands  should  forever 
continue  to  be  the  public  property  of  the  nation."  ^'' 
In  the  workingmen's  movement  of  the  twenties 
and  thirties,  land  reform  had  been  only  one  of  the 
minor  reforms  demanded.  The  great  panacea  had 
been   free,   equal,    republican  education.      But   the 

"Commons,  Political  Science  Quarterly,  1909,  vol.  24, 
pp.  478-479- 

*  Myers,  History  of  the  Sup'reme  Court,  p.  385.  See 
Executive  Documents,  First  Session,  23rd  Congress,  1834, 
Document  No.  104.  -     "" 


88  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

panic  of  1837  and  the  depression  of  the  immediately- 
succeeding  years  convinced  many  that  the  ballot 
and  the  school  were  insufficient  to  guarantee  de- 
mocracy and  human  equality  and  to  convert  the 
American  republic  into  an  earthly  Utopia.  The 
old  cure-alls  had  failed  to  stand  satisfactorily  the 
test  of  experience ;  and  the  way  was  cleared  for  the 
propaganda  of  a  new  antidote  for  social  ills.  The 
forties  and  fifties  brought  forth  the  land  reformer. 
This  enthusiast  emphatically  declared  that  indi- 
vidual and  inalienable  ownership  of  equal  farms 
Would  usher  in  a  new  and  a  better  era  in  which 
inequality,  injustice  and  oppression  would  vanish. 
Living  upon  an  inalienable  homestead,  and  this 
alone,  it  was  urged,  would  give  "freedom  to  a  man's 
vote." 

The  land  reformer  of  the  forties  had  a  very  dif- 
ferent ideal  from  the  one  so  earnestly  presented  by 
Skidmore.  Individualism,  not  communism;  laisses 
fairc,  not  governmental  interference;  private  and 
inalienable  ownership  of  land,  not  land  nationaliza- 
tion,— these  were  some  of  the  distinctive  differences 
between  the  two  classes  of  reformers.  Communism 
had  been  sloughed  off;  the  crude  individualism  of 
the  frontiersman  stood  plainly  revealed.  In  1844, 
Evans,  who  had  worked  with  Robert  Dale  Owen 
and  Miss  Frances  Wright  in  the  workingman's  agi- 
tation of  1 829- 1 83 1  for  free  tax-supported  public 
schools,  heard  a  new  call  to  action.  A  clioice  band 
of  ardent  enthusiasts  met  Evans  in  the  printery  of 


LAND  REFORM  89 

John  Windt;  and  another  ambitious  plan  to  re- 
generate mankind  was  devised.  The  movement 
spread.  Humanitarians,  workingmen,  and  even  the 
growing  capitalist  class  finally  united  in  demanding 
land  reform.  The  Working  Man's  Advocate,  later 
called  Young  America,  was  again  published;  but 
its  fundamental  demand  was  now  for  land  reform. 
Evans  "and  his  friends  organized  a  party  known 
as  National  Reformers,  and  asked  candidates  of  all 
other  parties  to  sign  a  pledge  to  vote  for  a  home- 
stead law.  If  no  candidate  signed,  they  placed  their 
own  ticket  in  the  field."  ^^  Many  mass  meetings 
were  held.  The  chief  object  of  the  new  party  "is 
the  stoppage  of  the  sale  of  the  Public  Lands,  and  the 
establishment  instead  of  the  principle  of  allowing 
every  landless  man  to  take  a  quarter  section  (160 
acres)  or  a  village  lot  of  the  Public  Lands,  and  oc- 
cupy it  so  long  as  he  possesses  no  other  land."  ^® 
The  National  Reform  Union  of  New  York  City 
was  organized  in  1844.  Soon  after  its  organization, 
it  issued  a  Report  in  regard  to  land  monopoly. 
"Having  made  due  inquiry  into  the  facts,  the  Com- 
mittee are  satisfied  that  there  is  a  much  larger  num- 
ber of  laboring  people  congregated  in  the  seaboard 
towns,  than  can  find  constant  and  profitable  employ- 
ment.    Your  Committee  do  not  think  it  necessary 

"Commons,  "Horace  Greeley  and  the  Working-  Class 
Origins  of  the  Republican  Party,"  Political  Science 
Quarterly,  1909,  vol.  24,  p.  480. 

""  Editorial  in  New  York  Tribune,  October  13,  1845. 


90  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

to  enter  into  statistical  details  in  order  to  prove  a 
fact  not  disputed  by  anybody.  The  result  of  this 
over-supply  of  labor  is  Competition  among  the  la- 
borers tending  to  reduce  wages,  even  where  em- 
ployment is  obtained,  to  a  scale  greatly  below  what 
is  necessary  for  the  comfortable  subsistence  of  the 
workingman,  and  the  education  of  his  family.  It 
appears  to  your  Committee,  that  as  long  as  the  sup- 
ply of  labor  exceeds  the  demand,  the  natural  laws 
which  regulate  prices  will  render  it  very  difficult, 
if  not  altogether  impossible,  permanently  to  im- 
prove the  conditions  of  the  working  people."  ^^ 
Therefore,  they  demanded  that  the  public  lands  be 
allotted  in  small  parcels  to  actual  settlers.  This 
body  of  reformers  wished  to  restore  man  to  his 
"natural  right  to  land."  One  of  the  planks  in  the 
platform  of  the  Industrial  Congress  related  to  land 
reform.  The  Industrial  Congress  was  supposed  to 
represent  all  classes.  Three  congresses  were  held 
in  1845,  1847  and  1850. 

Young  America  issued  a  pamphlet  entitled,  "Vote 
Yourself  a  Farm."  This  was  widely  circulated. 
It  read  in  part  as  follows:  "Would  you  free  your 
country,  and  the  sons  of  toil  everywhere,  from  the 
heartless,  irresponsible  mastery  of  the  Aristocracy 
of  Avarice?  Would  you  disarm  this  aristocracy 
of  its  chief  weapon,  the  fearful  power  of  banish- 

*°  The  Working  Man's  Advocate,  July  6,  1844.  Reprinted 
in  Documcnta) 
vol.  7,  pp.  293 


in  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society, 


LAND  REFORM  91 

merit  from  God's  earth?  Then  join  with  your 
neighbors  to  form  a  true  American  Party,  having 
for  its  guidance  the  principles  of  the  American 
Revolution,  and  whose  chief  measures  shall  be:  i. 
To  limit  the  quantity  of  land  that  any  man  may 
henceforth  monopolize  or  inherit;  and  2,  to  make 
the  Public  Lands  free  to  actual  settlers  only,  each 
having  the  right  to  sell  his  improvements  to  any 
man  not  possessed  of  other  land.  These  great  meas- 
ures once  carried  out,  wealth  would  become  a 
changed  social  element ;  it  w^ould  then  consist  of  the 
accumulated  products  of  human  labor  instead  of  a 
hoggish  monopoly  of  the  products  of  God's  labor; 
and  the  antagonism  of  labor  and  capital  would 
cease." 

Before  the  Civil  War,  investors  who  were  anx- 
ious to  speculate  found  only  a  comparatively  small 
number  of  opportunities.  Consequently,  land  spec- 
ulation was  not  uncommon.  The  land  reformers 
were  bitterly  opposed  to  this  form  of  speculation. 
Mr.  L.  A.  Hine,  the  editor  of  a  radical  paper  pub- 
lished in  Cincinnati,  voiced  the  sentiment  of  the 
ardent  land  reformers.  "No  one  ever  became 
wealthy  by  the  fair  reward  of  his  own  labor.  But 
the  rich  have  made  more  money  out  of  the  land 
which  nature  designed  to  be  as  free  as  air  than 
has  been  made  in  any  and  all  speculation  put  to- 
gether. They  buy  land  at  an  early  stage  of  settle- 
ment of  the  country,  keep  it  until  the  price  has  ad- 


92  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

vanced  so  as  to  satisfy  their  cupidity,  and  then  sell 
it,  counting  perhaps  an  hundred-fold  profit."  ^i 

Lewis  Masquerier  wrote  a  book  which  presents 
the  views  of  one  of  the  radical  land  reformers.  The 
title  of  this  little  volume,  as  was  frequently  true  of 
books  written  a  generation  or  two  ago,  is  a  synopsis 
of  the  succeeding  pages, — "Sociology  or  the  Recon- 
struction of  Society,  Government  and  Property  upon 
the  Principles  of  Equality,  the  Perpetuity  and  the 
Individuality  of  the  Private  Ownership  of  Life, 
Person  and  Government,  Homestead  and  the  whole 
Product  of  Labor,  by  organizing  all  nations  into 
townships  of  self-governed  homestead  Democracies, 
self-employed  in  farming  and  mechanism,  giving 
all  the  Liberty  and  Happiness  to  be  found  on  earth." 
The  rights  in  regard  to  land  ownership  which  Evans, 
Masquerier  and  others  emphasized  were :  ( i )  equal- 
ity in  the  quantity  of  land  owned  by  individuals  or 
families ;  (2)  land  should  be  inalienable,  or  the  own- 
ership should  be  perpetual;  and  (3)  land  should  be 
owned  by  individuals,  not  owned  collectively.  These 
views  were  in  harmony  with  the  ideas  of  the  Na- 
tional Reformers  and  the  members  of  the  Industrial 
Congresses  of  this  period. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  1878  the  Work- 
ingmen's  party  of  California  adopted  a  plank  which 
bears  a  marked  resemblance  to  the  demand  of  the 
earlier  land  reformers  of  the  East.  It  was  as- 
serted: (i)  That  the  granting  of  public  lands  to 

'^Herald  of  Truth,  1847,  vol.  i,  p.  no. 


LAND  REFORM  93 

corporations  was  robbery;  (2)  that  all  lands  so 
held  should  revert  to  actual  settlers;  (3)  that  indi- 
viduals should  not  be  allowed  to  hold  more  than 
one  square  mile  of  land  each;  and  (4)  that  lands 
should  be  taxed  according  to  value  irrespective  of 
improvements.^^ 

To  the  enthusiastic  land  reformer,  land  aliena- 
tion portended  inequalities  and  social  injustice.  It 
was  urged  that  the  soil,  like  a  man's  body,  should 
never  have  a  price  set  upon  it.  Land  must  only 
be  exchanged  for  land ;  and  products  only  for  prod- 
ucts. "All  institutions  of  society  and  government 
are  really  founded  upon  the  evil  principle  of  aliena- 
tion and  monopoly  of  property  and  other  rights." 
Greeley,  in  "Hints  toward  Reform,"  also  pointed 
out  the  evils  of  land  monopoly  and  demanded  "land 
limitation."  "A  single  law  of  Congress,  proffer- 
ing to  each  landless  citizen  a  patch  of  the  Public 
Domain, — small,  but  sufficient,  when  faithfully  cul- 
tivated, for  the  sustenance  of  his  family, — and  for- 
bidding farther  sales  of  the  Public  Lands,  except 
in  limited  quantities  to  actual  settlers,  with  a  suit- 
able proviso  against  future  aggregation,  would 
promote  immensely  the  independence,  enlighten- 
ment, morality,  industry,  and  comfort  of  our  en- 
tire laboring  population  evermore."  Again  in  his 
"Essay  on  Emancipation  of  Labor,"  Greeley  de- 
clared :  "I  trace  the  lack  of  employment,  the  scanty 

"Eaves,   A   History   of  California  Labor  Legislation, 
P-  35- 


94  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

reward,  and  the  meager  subsistence  often  accorded 
to  Labor,  directly  to  the  resistless  influence  of  Land 
Monopoly."  And  a  Southern  writer  has  declared 
that  Horace  Greeley  "was  the  first  man  in  America 
to  demonstrate  that  land  monopoly  occasioned  the 
enslavement  of  the  laboring  classes,  and  that  as 
the  population  became  denser,  this  slavery  became 
infinitely  worse  than  domestic  slavery." 

"In  order  that  the  rights  of  all  might  be  equal 
the  right  of  each  must  be  limited.  For  the  older 
states  it  was  proposed  that  land  limitation  should 
take  effect  only  on  the  death  of  the  owner,  Land 
was  not  to  be  inherited  in  larger  quantities  than  i6o 
or  320  acres.  Wisconsin  was  the  only  state  in  which 
this  measure  got  as  far  as  a  vote  in  the  legislature, 
that  of  1 85 1,  where  it  was  carried  in  the  lower  house 
by  a  majority  of  two  votes  but  was  defeated  on  a 
final  vote."  ^^ 

Masquerier  drew  up  a  cosmopolitan  "model  con- 
stitution." This  was  an  "attempt  to  declare  the 
thorough  principles  of  Social  and  Political  Science ; 
a  new  form  of  Society  and  Government,  and  adapted 
to  any  state  or  nation."  It  was  proposed  that  the 
land  be  divided  into  townships  composed  of  farms 
of  not  less  than  ten  acres  in  extent.  Each  family 
was  to  be  the  inalienable  owner  of  one  of  these 
farms.  The  nation  was  to  be  divided  into  town- 
ships.    Each  township  was  to  be  six  miles  square 

Commons,  Political  Science  Quarterly,  1909,  vol.  24, 
p.  482. 


LAND  REFORM  95 

with  a  square  mile  in  the  center  for  a  park  and 
for  public  edifices. 

This  unique  scheme  was  the  framework  of  an  in- 
dividualistic, democratic  Utopia.  It  inclined  to- 
ward anarchism  rather  than  toward  communism ;  it 
was  reactionary  in  that  it  looked  toward  a  primi- 
tive type  of  agricultural  society.  Masquerier  pic- 
tured a  Utopia  which  truly  looked  backwards. 
Agriculture  and  manufacture  of  a  crude  type  were 
to  be  followed.  The  laisscs  faire  system  was  to  pre- 
vail as  far  as  possible;  and  the  function  of  the 
central  government  was  to  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
Commerce,  cities,  cooperative  action,  and  represen- 
tative government  were  spurned  as  exemplifying 
monopoly  and  civic  decay.  The  ideal  of  the  radical 
land  reformer  of  the  pre-Civil  War  period  clearly 
has  the  unique  imprint  of  the  American  primitive, 
isolated-farmhouse  type  of  association.  Masquerier 
glorified  a  type  of  civilization  which  melts  before 
the  railway,  the  factory  and  modern  trade.  The 
land  reformer  agreed  with  Rousseau  in  opposing 
commerce  and  manufacture,  with  Jefferson  in  glori- 
fying a  rural  democracy  and  in  fearing  the  develop- 
ment of  cities,  and  with  the  Greeks  in  demanding 
direct  participation  in  government  by  all  citizens; 
the  concepts  of  modern  sociology  were  outside  his 
limited  range  of  vision. 

An  individualistic  Utopia  of  farmhouses  was  in- 
digenous to  a  country  peopled  with  a  race  of  highly 
individualistic  men  and  women,  and  possessed  of 


96  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

an  abundance  of  uncultivated,  but  cultivatable,  land. 
The  communistic  schemes  of  Owen  and  Fourier 
were  of  European  origin.  The  Utopia  of  Mas- 
querier  and  Greeley  was  necessarily  that  of  a  fron- 
tier community  living  upon  the  soil  in  an  independ- 
ent fashion.  The  simple  life  of  the  American  pio- 
neer became  the  ideal  life  for  society  everywhere 
and  at  any  time. 

Although  the  ideal  of  the  land  reformer  was  very 
different  from  that  of  the  wage  earner,  both  were 
able  to  work  together  toward  a  common  end.  The 
land  reformers  blazed  the  way  toward  the  Home- 
stead Act.  As  has  been  indicated,  the  workingmen 
of  the  cities  early  looked  with  favor  upon  free  land 
for  homesteads.  Greeley  pointed  out  two  ways  in 
which  the  city  laborer  would  benefit :  ( i )  Some 
competitors  would  be  drawn  to  the  new  lands,  thus 
tending  to  raise  wages,  or  at  least  to  prevent  lower- 
ing the  existing  rate  of  wages.  (2)  There  would 
be  an  increasing  demand  for  the  products  of  manu- 
factories and  workshops,  thus  increasing  the  de- 
mand for  labor. 

Employers  of  labor  were  favorably  impressed  by 
the  latter  effect,  but  not  so  by  the  former.  Their 
attitude  was  chiefly  determined  by  the  relative  im- 
portance of  the  two.  After  the  potato  famine  in 
Ireland  and  the  revolutionar}'^  disturbances  of  1848, 
the  rapid  influx  of  immigrants  afforded  a  supply  of 
labor  to  take  the  places  of  native  workers  who  might 
be  attracted  to  the  West  by  free  homesteads.    The 


LAND  REFORM  97 

gradual  development  of  the  factory  system  and  the 
expansion  of  the  railway  network  showed  clearly 
the  need  of  wide  markets  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
possibility  of  economically  reaching  distant  markets 
on  the  other.  To  carve  farms  out  of  the  virgin 
western  wilderness  and  to  put  these  farms  in  close 
touch  with  the  East  by  means  of  the  railway  meant 
the  creation  of  a  demand  for  the  products  of  mine 
and  factory.  The  shifting  of  the  economic  center 
of  gravity  and  the  influx  of  immigrants  caused 
many  of  the  manufacturers  to  change  their  attitude 
and  to  align  themselves  with  the  land  reformers  and 
the  workingmen  in  demanding  the  rapid  extension 
of  the  small  farm  system  with  individual  owner- 
ship.24 

The  following  extract  from  an  editorial  which 
appeared  in  an  influential  New  York  newspaper  con- 
stitutes a  powerful  and  tangible  appeal  to  the  manu- 
facturing, commercial  and  wage-earning  interests 
of  the  East  in  favor  of  homesteads  and  the  nonex- 
tension  of  slavery.  "The  Great  West  is  the  pre- 
destined market,  not  only  of  the  imported  Wares 
and  Fabrics  of  the  seaboard  cities,  but  of  the  Iron 
of  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey,  the  Manufactures 
of  New  England,  the  cotton  and  sugar  of  the  South- 
west. The  faster  the  West  can  be  settled  and  cul- 
tivated, the  more  independent  and  thrifty  its  set- 
tlers, the  greater  must  be  the  demand  for  the  pe- 

•*  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organised  Labor, 
pp.  48-49. 


98  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

culiar  products  and  merchandize  of  the  seaboard 
States.  A  new  State  in  the  West  implies  new  ware- 
houses in  and  near  lower  Broadway,  new  streets  and 
blocks  uptown,  new  furnaces  in  Pennsylvania,  new 
factories  in  New  England.  A  new  cabin  on  the 
prairies  predicts  and  insures  more  work  for  carmen 
and  stevedores  of  New  York."  ^^  Carl  Schurz  in 
a  speech  delivered  August  i,  i860,  pointed  out 
clearly  and  forcefully  the  divergent  interests  of 
free  labor  and  slavery  in  regard  to  the  public 
lands.^" 

Workingmen  favored  land  reform  during  the 
forties  and  fifties  as  a  means  of  keeping  up  wages. 
If  wages  were  low,  a  worker  could  go  West  and 
take  possession  of  a  portion  of  the  public  domain. 
But  the  South  with  its  plantation  system  and  its 
slave  economy  stood  as  a  mighty  obstacle.  The 
Republican  party  was  a  concrete  result  of  the  in- 
sistent demand  for  free  homesteads.-'^  The  plat- 
form of  that  party  in  i860  contained  a  plank  favor- 
ing "the  free  homestead  policy."  It  read  as  fol- 
lows: "Resolved,  That  we  protest  against  any  sale 
or  alienation  to  others  of  the  public  lands  held  by 
actual  settlers,  and  against  any  view  of  the  free 
homestead  policy,  which  regards  the  settlers  as 
paupers  or  supplicants  for  public  bounty;  and  we 

"New  York  Tribune ,  August  25,  i860. 
"New  York  Tribune,  August  29,  i860. 
''Commons,  "Greeley  and  the  Republican  Party,"  Po- 
litical Science  Quarterly,  vol.  24,  pp.  468-488. 


LAND  REFORM  99 

demand  the  passage  by  Congress  of  the  complete 
and  satisfactory  homestead  measure,  which  has  al- 
ready passed  the  House."  After  the  Southern  Sen- 
ators and  Representatives  left  the  halls  of  Congress 
at  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War,  the  famous  Home- 
stead Act  became  a  law.  This  act  partially  embod- 
ied the  demands  of  the  leaders  of  the  land  reform 
movement,  —  Evans,  Greeley,  Masquerier  and 
others. 

Of  the  many  curious  reform  movements  of  the 
"yeasty"  period  of  the  forties  and  fifties,  perhaps 
none  bore  better  fruit  than  that  for  land  reform. 
Although  to-day  the  eccentricities  in  the  schemes 
of  Evans,  Greeley  and  Masquerier  can  readily  be 
discerned,  it  may  easily  be  believed  that  their  agi- 
tation did  much  to  retard  the  development  of  a  sys- 
tem of  absentee  landlordism  in  the  central  and  west- 
ern portions  of  the  United  States.  And  the  votes 
of  the  workingmen  were  potent  factors  in  the  par- 
tial consummation  of  the  reforms  demanded  by 
the  humanitarian  leaders.^® 

After  the  passage  of  the  Homestead  Act,  land 
reform  was  temporarily  dropped  from  the  list  of 
social  reforms  demanded.  Congress,  however, 
granted  millions  of  acres  of  the  public  domain  to 
railways;  and  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War, 
land  reform  reappeared  in  the  oft-repeated  objec- 
tion made  by  wage  earners  and  others  to  land  grants 

**  Carlton,  "An  American  Utopia,"  Quarterly  Journal  of 
Economics,  1910,  vol.  24,  pp.  428-433. 


lOo  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

to  railways.  The  demand  was  made  time  and  time 
again  by  organized  labor  that  the  public  domain  be 
disposed  of  only  to  actual  settlers  and  in  small 
parcels.  The  perennial  fear  of  monopoly  led  the 
wage  earners  to  insist  that  land  should  not  be  do- 
nated or  sold  to  corporations.  "It  seemed  that  the 
hopes  of  homesteaders  were  to  be  dashed  by  a  re- 
turn to  the  land  speculation  and  extensive  holdings 
of  earlier  days.  The  first  strong  protest  against 
this  reaction  took  shape  in  the  National  Labor  Con- 
gress of  1866,  and  the  now  elderly  land  reformers 
of  the  forties  again  gathered  themselves  together 
to  protect  their  dearly  acquired  right  of  individual 
homestead.  Their  activity  appears  throughout  the 
proceedings  of  the  National  Labor  Union  and  the 
Industrial  Congress;  and  the  final  success  of  their 
agitation,  in  halting  the  gifts  of  land  to  corpora- 
tions, marks  the  termination  of  the  homestead  stage 
of  agrarianism."  ^® 

At  the  first  meeting,  August,  1866,  of  the  Na- 
tional Labor  Congress,  a  resolution  was  unanimous- 
ly adopted  declaring  that  the  public  land  ought  to 
be  disposed  of  only  to  actual  settlers.  The  second 
Congress  held  at  Chicago  in  1867  also  passed  reso- 
lutions bitterly  assailing  the  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment in  regard  to  public  lands.  "The  course  of  our 
legislation  recently  has  tended  to  the  building  up  of 
greater  monopolies,  and  the  creation  of  more  power- 

^  Docmncntary  History  of  American  Indtistrial  Society, 
vol.  9,  pp.  46-47- 


LAND  REFORM  loi 

ful  moneyed  and  landed  aristocracies  in  the  United 
States  than  any  that  now  overshadow  the  destinies 
of  Europe.  Eight  hundred  millions  of  acres  of  the 
people's  lands  have  been  legislated  into  the  hands 
of  a  few  hundred  individuals,  who  already  assume 
a  haughty  and  insolent  tone  and  bearing  towards 
the  people  and  government,  as  did  the  patricians  of 
Ancient  Rome.  These  lands  are  held  unimproved, 
and  mainly  for  speculative  purposes.  In  that  con- 
dition they  yield  neither  produce  nor  revenue,  but 
if  they  were  open  to  settlement  they  would  soon 
swarm  with  a  busy  population,  by  whose  thrift,  in- 
dustry and  intelligence  the  wilderness  would  then 
be  made  to  blossom  as  the  rose."  ^®  It  was  further 
resolved,  as  in  1866,  that  public  lands  be  given,  not 
sold,  only  to  actual  settlers;  and  that  uncultivated 
lands  held  for  speculative  purposes  be  taxed  as 
heavily  as  improved  land  in  the  same  locality.  In 
1869,  the  official  publication  of  the  National  Labor 
Union,  The  Working  man's  Advocate,  again  de- 
manded the  taxing  of  all  uncultivated  land. 

A  '-all  for  a  convention  issued  by  a  committee 
authorized  by  the  National  Labor  Congress  of  1870 
confidently  asserted  that  capital  was  master  in  this 
country.  Among  the  five  instrumentalities  which 
gave  capital  its  favorable  and  dominating  position 
was  mentioned  land  monopoly.  This  was  declared 
to  be  the  result  of  the  absorption  of  the  public  do- 

^^  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society, 
vol.  9,  p.  189. 


102  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

main  by  corporations.  The  railway  corporations 
were  especially  aimed  at.  The  remaining  instru- 
mentalities were:  Banking  and  moneyed  monopo- 
lies; consolidated  railways  and  other  traction 
monopolies;  manufacturing  monopolies  which 
crushed  the  small  operators  and  determined  the 
wages  of  the  workers;  and  commercial  and  grain 
monopolies  which  indulge  in  speculation.  After 
1 87 1  no  more  land  grants  were  made  to  railways.^^ 
The  discontinuance  of  this  policy  was  due  to  a 
combination  of  circumstances  among  which  was  the 
peopling  of  the  West  and,  hence,  greater  certainty 
of  business  for  a  new  railway.  Nevertheless,  the 
opposition  of  the  wage  earners  constituted  one  im- 
portant factor  in  ending  the  practice. 

The  land  reform  doctrine  known  as  the  single 
tax  was  definitely  formulated  by  Henry  George,  a 
man  familiar  with  the  conditions  in  California.  His 
famous  book.  Progress  and  Poverty,  was  published 
in  1879.  Some  enormous  holdings  of  land  in  Cali- 
fornia "had  come  down  from  the  Spanish  and  Mex- 
ican regime";  others  were  the  result  of  the  land 
policy  of  the  United  States  which  favored  specula- 
tors rather  than  settlers. ^^  The  single  tax  propa- 
gandists propose  to  take  the  entire  economic  rent 
of  land  in  the  form  of  a  tax.     No  taxes  are  to  be 

"Sanborn,  Congressional  Grants  of  Land  in  Aid  of 
Railways,  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Wiscotisin,  p.  66. 

*^  Young,  History  of  the  Single  Tax  Movement  in  the 
United  States,  pp.  33-34.  See  also  Bancroft,  History  of 
California,  vol.  6,  p.  577;  and  Royce,  California,  p.  491. 


LAND  REFORM  103 

levied  on  improvements.  In  this  manner,  land  rents 
may  be  diverted  from  private  pockets  to  the  public 
treasury.  The  single  tax  movement  does  not  seem 
to  have  attracted  much  attention  from  organized 
labor.  Until  recent  years  this  "agrarian  doctrine, 
growing  out  of  Californian  conditions,  was  too  ad- 
vanced to  fit  other  American  conditions."  The 
workers  outside  of  California  were  not  yet  ready 
for  the  doctrine  of  the  single  tax.^^ 

In  1886,  the  socialists  and  certain  labor  organi- 
zations united  with  the  single  taxers  to  support 
Henry  George  for  mayor  of  New  York  City.  For 
several  years  preceding  this  date,  groups  of  work- 
ingmen  had  affiliated  with  various  ephemeral  labor 
organizations  and  with  numerous  temporary  politi- 
cal and  reform  movements.  The  support  of  Henry 
George  for  office  does  not  necessarily  indicate  that 
the  workers  of  New  York  were  especially  interested 
in  the  single  tax  propaganda.  The  workingmen  of 
the  country  were  dissatisfied;  and  they  recognized 
in  Henry  George  a  friend  of  the  toiling  masses.^*^ 
The  editor  of  The  Nation  was  of  the  opinion  that 
the  labor  organizations  "do  not  care  one  cent  about 
Mr.  George's  promised  'reforms,'  which  are  much 
too  shadowy  and  remote.     What  they  seek  is  to 

''Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society, 

vol.  9.  P-  47-  ...... 

"Young,  The  Single  Tax  Movement  in  the  Untted 
States,  pp.  95,  103. 


104  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

frighten  the  City  and  State  officers  and  *the  poli- 
ticians' in  such  fashion  that  strikers  will  not  be 
fined  or  imprisoned  for  boycotting  and  street  riot- 
ing; and  this  they  think  they  can  do  by  giving 
George  a  large  vote."  ^^  On  the  other  hand,  the 
friends  of  Mr.  George  believed  that  the  workers  had 
been  convinced  by  the  perusal  of  Progress  and  Pov- 
erty that  the  single  tax  and  political  action  would 
solve  their  difficulties. 

In  the  presidential  campaign  of  1888  two  ephem- 
eral labor  parties  appeared  in  the  political  arena, 
— the  Union  Labor  party  and  the  United  Labor 
party.  The  former  advocated  the  limitation  of  land 
ownership;  and  the  latter  favored  the  single  tax. 
Both  factions  denounced  bitterly  the  old  parties  as 
hopelessly  corrupt;  and  both  favored  government 
ownership  of  railway  and  telegraph  lines.^^  In  the 
eighties,  more  permanent  labor  organizations  were 
gaining  strength.  The  Knights  of  Labor  reached 
their  high-water  mark  in  1886, — the  year  of  the 
Henry  George  campaign  in  New  York  City.  In 
fact,  it  was  a  period  in  which  labor  was  sloughing 
off  its  reformism.  Labor  was  entering  an  epoch  in 
which  emphasis  was  to  be  placed  upon  union  action 
rather  than  upon  political  activities. 

In  the  last  five  or  ten  years  has  occurred  a  re- 

*The  Nation,  October  7,  1886.  See  also  Dewey,  Na- 
tional Problems,  p.   53. 

^  See   also   infra,   Chapter   VIII. 


LAND  REFORM  105 

markable  revival  of  single  taxism.  The  renewed 
interest  in  this  reform  appears  to  be  the  product  of 
the  disappearance  oi  free  land  for  homesteads. 
Land — desirable  land — is  nearly  all  in  the  hands  of 
private  individuals ;  and  the  problems  connected  with 
the  "unearned  increment,"  with  rent  and  with  the 
conservation  of  natural  resources,  are  now  press- 
ing for  solution.  In  a  supplementary  statement 
made  by  A.  B.  Garretson,  one  of  the  three  labor 
representatives  on  the  Commission  on  Industrial 
Relations,  and  concurred  in  by  the  other  labor  rep- 
resentatives, one  of  the  four  fundamental  causes 
underlying  unrest  in  the  industrial  world  in  this 
country  was  presented  as  follows :  "Land  monopoly 
with  resulting  prohibitive  price,  the  greatest  influ- 
ence in  creating  congestion  in  the  cities,  bears  its 
own  share  of  the  responsibility  for  unrest."  It  was 
suggested  that  no  more  land  be  held  by  one  indi- 
vidual than  can  be  put  to  "productive  use."  Unused 
land  should  revert  to  the  state  and  be  acquirable 
by  persons  who  would  "utilize  it."  ^"^  This  sug- 
gestion is  very  similar  to  those  made  by  the  land 
reformer  of  earlier  years. 

Early  in  the  year  19 16,  the  Executive  Council 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  indorsed  a 
proposed  amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the 
State  of  Oregon  providing  for  the  "single  tax." 

'^Report  of  the  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations, 
191 5  ed.,  pp.  294-295. 


io6  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

This  proposal  also  provided  that  "When  the  State 
acquires  title  to  a  piece  of  property  because  of  de- 
linquent taxes  the  title  from  that  time  on  is  vested 
in  the  State  and  it  cannot  be  sold  to  private  indi- 
viduals. It  must  be  leased."  ^*  The  vote  on  this 
amendment  was  approximately  43,000  for  to 
155,000  against;  or  about  22  per  cent,  of  the  total 
vote  was  cast  for  the  amendment.  Several  other 
labor  organizations  have  also  indorsed  the  principle 
of  the  single  tax, — the  State  Federations  of  Ore- 
gon, California,  Missouri,  Rhode  Island  and  Texas, 
the  Centi  \\  Labor  Union  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia and  a  number  of  local  labor  organizations.^^  A 
recent  investigation  of  the  "political  thought  of  so- 
cial classes"  in  Oregon  presented,  among  others,  the 
following  conclusion :  "The  laboring  class  favors  the 
single-tax  more  than  do  the  other  social  classes."  ^^ 
The  American  Federation  of  Labor  has  also  taken 
an  active  interest  in  the  conservation  movement. 
The  Socialist  party,  with  a  normal  voting  strength 
of  perhaps  a  million  drawn  almost  entirely  from  the 
ranks  of  the  wage  earners,  favors  the  extension  of 
the  public  domain  so  as  to  include  mines,  quarries, 
forests,  oil  wells  and  waterpower.  In  1909,  by  a 
referendum  vote,  the  clause  in  the  platform  of  the 

'^Joseph  Pels  Fund  Bulletin,  April,   1916;  December, 
1916. 
^Joseph  Pels  Fund  Bulletin,  November,  1916. 
*°  Political  Science  Quarterly,  vol.  36,  p.  316. 


LAND  REFORM  107 

Socialist  party  demanding  the  collective  ownership 

of  "all  land,"  was  stricken  out.^^^ 

"In  1917,  the  difficulties  connected  with  the  production 
of  an  adequate  food  supply  directed,  in  a  very  insistent 
manner,  the  attention  of  the  American  people  of  all 
classes  to  the  problem  of  land  reform.  The  organization 
in  December,  1917,  of  the  American  Association  for  Agri- 
cultural Legislation  is  one  of  many  indications  that  the 
land  reform  question  is  again  to  be  a  favorite  topic  for 
the  agitator,  the  investigator  and  the  statesman.  The 
reconstruction  program  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  (1919)  demands  that  "legislation  should  be  enacted 
placing  a  graduated  tax  upon  all  usable  lands  above  the 
acreage  which  is  cultivated  by  the  owner." 


CHAPTER  VI 

LABOR  LEGISLATION  AND  THE  WAGE 
EARNER 

Labor  legislation  may  be  classified  as  follows: 
I.  Legislation  of  a  general  character,  considered  de- 
sirable by  organized  labor  but  not  dealing  specifically 
with  the  wage  earners  as  a  class,  for  example,  free 
schools,  free  homesteads,  the  popular  election  of 
United  States  senators,  the  Australian  ballot  sys- 
tem, the  parcels  post;  2.  legislation  specifically  ben- 
eficial to  the  wage  earning  class  such  as  laws  fixing 
the  maximum  number  of  working  hours  per  day, 
the  restriction  of  immigration,  child  labor  legisla- 
tion and  workingmen's  compensation;  3.  distinctly 
union  legislation  such  as  modifications  in  the  laws 
in  regard  to  the  injunction,  and  the  exemption  of 
labor  organizations  from  the  provisions  of  the 
anti-trust  laws.^  Legislation  of  the  first  type  was 
the  chief  concern  of  the  pre-Civil  War  period.  The 
third  class  has  been  vigorously  pressed  since  1908. 
Progressives,  social  reformers  or  humanitarians 
have  in  many  cases  been  the  active  leaders  in  agi- 
tating for  legislation  of  the  first  and  second  type. 

*  Wright,  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  191 5,  vol.  29, 

pp.  254-255. 

108 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  109 

The  early  agitation  for  labor  legislation  in  the 
United  States  was  initiated  by  humanitarian  leaders 
such  as  James  G.  Carter  and  Horace  Mann.  These 
men  and  their  followers  declared  that  education  was 
necessary  to  good  citizenship  in  a  country  under  a 
republican  form  of  government,  and  that  leisure 
time  was  essential  for  adequate  education.  The 
wage  earner  who  was  obliged  to  work  twelve  to 
sixteen  hours  a  day  was  thereby  debarred  from 
obtaining  the  necessary  amount  of  training  requi- 
site for  good  citizenship.  The  insistent  demand  for 
adequate  educational  facilities  and  opportunities  led 
directly  to  the  movement  for  shorter  hours.  Labor 
reformers  of  the  pre-Civil  War  period  usually  knit 
the  two  together.  Although  the  initial  steps  were 
taken  by  middle  class  leaders,  the  wage  earners  of 
the  country  soon  took  up  the  demand  for  a  shorter 
working  day,  and  persistently  agitated  for  it.  The 
traditional  insistence  upon  education  for  each  and 
every  individual,  derived  from  the  principles  of  the 
Puritans,  led  directly  to  the  shorter  hour  movement 
soon  after  the  factory  system  became  firmly  estab- 
lished. But  throughout  the  history  of  American 
labor  legislation  the  most  potent  and  persistent  pres- 
sure for  this  and  other  forms  of  labor  legislation 
has  come  from  those  most  vitally  concerned, — the 
workers  themselves.  Excepting  the  demands  for 
a  mechanics'  lien  law,  the  abolition  of  imprisonment 
for  debt,  free  education  and  free  land,  the  one  kind 
of  labor  legislation  repeatedly  demanded  during  the 


no  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

pre-Civil  War  period  was  for  a  reduction  in  the 
length  of  the  working  day. 

But  legislation  regulating  the  hours  of  labor,  or 
the  conditions  under  which  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren might  be  employed,  ran  counter  to  the  deep- 
seated  American  aversion  to  anything  savoring  of 
interference  with  the  freedom  of  the  individual. 
This  furnishes  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  agita- 
tion for  a  shorter  working  day  was  continued  so 
long  before  tangible  results  were  forthcoming. 
This  reverence'  for  what  was  assumed  to  be  the 
rights  of  the  individual  crops  out  time  and  time 
again.  For  example,  in  the  first  American  investi- 
gation of  working  conditions  in  factories,  the  select- 
men of  Massachusetts  towns  and  cities  were  author- 
ized to  investigate  only  ''incorporated  manufactur- 
ing companies."  These  were  creatures  of  the  state 
and,  hence,  interference  with  their  business  was  not 
improper.  But  evidently  it  was  felt  that  private  in- 
dividuals operating  manufacturing  establishments 
ought  not  to  be  investigated.^  The  old  negative 
idea  of  liberty  as  existing  only  in  the  absence  of 
legal  restraint,  supported  by  the  prestige  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  and  constantly  revivified 
by  contact  with  the  western  frontier  spirit,  died 
hard.  The  modern  positive  idea  of  liberty  under 
law  was  evolved  in  an  environment  of  factories, 
division  of  labor,  cities  and  wage  earners. 

*  Report  on  the  Condition  of  Woman  and  Child  Wage 
Earners,  1910,  vol.  6,  p.  31. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  iii 

Three  methods  of  obtaining  shorter  working 
hours  were  utiHzed  by  the  wage  workers  in  the 
agitation  of  the  pre-Civil  War  period,  (a)  Between 
1827  and  1 83 1,  the  formation  of  labor  parties  and 
the  election  of  workingmeu  to  office,  was  relied 
upon,  (b)  Especially  in  the  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  panic  of  1837,  strikes  were  called  for 
this  purpose,  (c)  In  the  forties,  the  petition  method 
was  resorted  to.  State  legislatures  were  petitioned 
to  pass  laws  granting  a  shorter  working  day.^ 

Until  after  1865,  labor  organizations  did  not  dis- 
play much  interest  in  the  matter  of  restricting  child 
labor.  The  reasons  for  this  situation  are  not  ob- 
scure. The  membership  of  early  American  labor 
organizations  was  drawn  chiefly  from  the  skilled 
trades,  such  as  the  building  trades,  printing  and 
shoemaking.  The  factory  workers  were  not  or- 
ganized until  later;  but  the  first  child  wage  earners 
were  employed  in  factories.  This  fact  accounts  in 
part  for  the  apathy  of  organized  labor  before  the 
Civil  War  in  regard  to  child  labor.  Again,  educa- 
tion and  land  reform  were  considered  to  be  panaceas 
for  all  industrial  and  social  ills.  Secure  these  two 
fundamental  reforms  and,  it  was  confidently  as- 
sumed, the  evils  connected  with  industry  would  van- 
ish. And,  lastly,  the  familiar  injunctions  against 
idleness  must  not  be  overlooked  as  factors  in  de- 
laying legislation  against  child  labor. 

^Report  on  the  Condition  of  Woman  and  Child  Wage 
Earners,  1910,  vol.  6,  p.  37. 


112  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

The  agitation  for  a  shorter  working  day  began 
soon  after  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812.  The  work- 
ingmen's  parties,  the  New  England  Association  of 
Farmers,  Mechanics  and  other  Workingmen,  183 1- 
1834,  and  the  trades'  unions  organized  in  the  period, 
1 833- 1 837,  agitated  for  a  ten-hour  day.  In  1829, 
many  artisans  in  the  city  of  New  York  were  work- 
ing only  ten  hours  per  day.  In  the  latter  half  of 
the  twenties,  the  workingmen  of  Rhode  Island  be- 
gan to  ask  for  a  shorter  working  day.  "During  the 
decade  following  1829,  the  Democratic  party  [in 
Rhode  Island]  was  in  active  sympathy  with  the 
plans  of  the  workers;  in  fact,  it  came  near  being 
a  workingmen's  party."  *  The  chief  democratic 
newspaper  of  the  state  became  active  in  its  support 
of  the  workingmen. 

In  the  decade  immediately  preceding  the  panic  of 
1837,  the  spokesmen  of  the  workingmen  were  using 
arguments  similar  to  those  used  by  such  educational 
reformers  as  Carter  and  Mann.  As  the  most  im- 
portant step  leading  toward  the  improvement  of  the 
working  classes,  in  1834,  the  editor  of  The  New 
England  Artisan,  "insisted  upon  the  necessity  of 
their  taking  immediate  measures  to  diminish  their 
hours  of  labor  so  as  to  afford  them  ample  time  for 
mental  improvement  and  for  healthful  exercise  in 
the  open  air."  ^  At  the  convention  of  the  National 
Trades'  Union,  the  first  national  federation  of  Amer- 

*Towles,  Labor  Legislation  in  Rhode  Island^  p.  60. 
'  Persons,  Labor  Laws  and  Their  Enforcement,  p.  15. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  113 

ican  trade  unions,  held  in  1836,  a  committee  was 
appointed  on  the  ten-hour  system  on  government 
work.  This  committee  reported  that  the  memorials 
of  a  similar  committee  appointed  at  the  preceding 
annual  convention  had  been  treated  contemptuously 
by  Congress.  The  committee  recommended  united 
action  on  the  part  of  all  unions  in  requesting  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  establish  a  ten- 
hour  day  for  all  governmental  employees.  Presi- 
dent Van  Buren  was  a  skillful  politician.  He  recog- 
nized that  the  labor  vote  had  been  an  important 
factor  in  aiding  Jackson  and  himself;  and,  in  1840, 
he  paid  his  political  debts  by  complying  with  the 
request  made  by  organized  labor.® 

In  the  early  thirties  there  was  considerable  dis- 
cussion of  the  effect  of  a  long  working  day  upon 
the  efficiency  and  moral  stamina  of  wage  earners; 
but  the  agitation  was  carried  on  almost  entirely 
by  the  wage  earners  and  a  few  humanitarian  lead- 
ers. The  general  public  and  the  press  were  either 
indifferent  or  hostile.  A  Boston  newspaper  in  1832 
declared  that  labor  organizations  strike  "at  the  very 
nerve  of  industry  and  good  morals  by  dictating  the 
hours  of  labor,  abrogating  the  good  old  rule  of  our 
fathers  and  pointing  out  the  most  direct  course  to 
poverty;  for  to  be  idle  several  of  the  most  useful 
hours  of  the  morning  and  evening  will  surely  lead 

'Carlton,  The  History  and  Problems  of  Organised 
Labor,  p.  37. 


114  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

to  intemperance  and  ruin."  ^  For  several  years 
after  the  panic  of  1837,  there  was  very  little  dis- 
cussion of  conditions  in  American  factories.  About 
1842,  particularly  in  Massachusetts,  the  ten  hour 
agitation  was  resumed.  Various  groups  of  factory 
workers  began  sending  petitions  to  the  legislature; 
and  factory  operatives  for  the  first  time  in  America 
played  important  roles  in  the  agitation  for  improved 
working  conditions.  Before  1837,  except,  perhaps, 
in  Rhode  Island,  they  had  not  been  influential  in 
labor  movements. 

The  decade  of  the  forties  has  been  designated  a 
"hot-air"  period  or  an  era  of  "unbounded  loquacity." 
Labor  organizations  were  not  strong  and  impor- 
tant, and  those  that  did  appear  were  idealistic 
rather  than  practical.  Unionism  and  humanitar- 
ianism  were  curiously  intermingled.  Not  until  the 
following  decade  did  labor  begin  to  disentangle  it- 
self from  humanitarianism.  "Pure  and  simple,"  or 
class  conscious,  trade  unionism  which  had  suffered 
an  eclipse  after  1837,  began  to  appear  again  in  the 
early  fifties.  The  method  of  sending  petitions  to 
state  legislatures  became  a  favorite  way  of  airing 
grievances  in  the  forties.  The  various  labor  con- 
gresses and  workingmen's  associations  of  the  period 
often  resorted  to  the  petition.  In  Massachusetts, 
beginning  with  1842,  the  legislatures  were  flooded 
with  petitions  asking  for  legislation  establishing  a 

'Myers,  History  of  Great  American  Fortunes,  vol.  2,  p. 
60;  McNeill,  The  Labor  Movement,  p.  339. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  115 

ten-hour  day  in  factories  operated  by  corporations. 

One  of  the  most  notable  of  these  petitions  was 
that  from  Lowell  in  1842.  The  petitioners  "ear- 
nestly pray  that  a  Law  may  be  enacted,  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  affect  all  the  Manufacturing  Corpora- 
tions of  this  State,  so  that  they  shall  not  employ 
persons  to  work  more  than  ten  hours  a  day.  The 
tendency  of  such  a  law  would  be  good.  It  would, 
in  the  first  place,  serve  to  lengthen  the  Hves  of  those 
employed,  by  giving  them  a  greater  opportunity  to 
breathe  the  pure  air  of  heaven,  rather  than  the 
heated  air  of  the  mills.  In  the  second  place,  they 
would  have  more  time  for  mental  and  moral  culti- 
vation, which  no  one  can  deny  is  necessary  for 
them  in  future  life — (it  ought  not  to  be  supposed 
that  those  who  work  in  the  mills  will  do  so  as  long 
as  life  lasts).  In  the  third  place,  they  will  have 
more  time  to  attend  to  their  own  personal  affairs, 
thereby  saving  considerable  in  their  expenditures."  ^ 
It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  this  petition  from  the 
workers  employed  in  the  mills  of  Lowell  gives  the 
first  place  to  the  conservation  of  human  resources, 
— lengthening  the  lives  of  the  workers. 

The  rise  in  prices,  which  began  in  1843  and  con- 
tinued for  two  or  three  years,  stimulated  labor  agi- 
tation and  multiplied  the  demands  for  improve- 
ment in  the  condition  of  the  wage  earners.  At  first, 
the  ten-hour  petitions   found   few   friends   in   the 

"  Quoted,  Persons,  Labor  Lazvs  and  Their  Enforcement, 
p.  26.    Massachusetts  Archives,  No.  1215/5. 


ii6  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

State  Legislatures.  Gradually,  however,  the  senti- 
ment became  somewhat  more  favorable.  Legisla- 
tive committees  from  time  to  time  made  reports  in 
regard  to  the  ten-hour  day.  In  Massachusetts,  "so 
far  as  these  reports  go,  the  position  of  the  employees 
was  continually  growing  stronger."  ^  The  corpo- 
rations even  found  it  necessary  or  expedient  to  start 
a  campaign  of  education  in  opposition  to  the  advo- 
cates of  the  ten-hour  day.  The  state  legislature  of 
Pennsylvania  conducted,  in  1838,  an  investigation 
in  regard  to  women  and  child  workers  in  the  fac- 
tories of  that  state.*®  In  Massachusetts,  in  1845, 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  conduct  an  official  in- 
vestigation of  labor  conditions. 

"The  first  ten-hour  law"  was  passed  by  the  legis- 
lature of  New  Hampshire  in  1847.  As  might  be 
expected,  this  initial  law  was  very  weak  and  easy 
to  evade.  The  law  provided  for  a  ten-hour  day 
unless  an  express  contract  was  made  requiring  a 
longer  working  day.  Minors  under  fifteen  years  of 
age  could  not  work  over  ten  hours  per  day  "without 
the  written  consent  of  the  parent  or  guardian  of 
such  minor  first  obtained."     Horace  Greeley,  com- 

'  Quoted,  Persons,  Labor  Laws  and  Their  Enforcement, 
p.  74. 

"  This  has  been  called  the  first  official  investigation  into 
labor  conditions  in  the  United  States;  but,  in  1825,  the 
committee  on  education  of  the  State  Senate  of  Massa- 
chusetts made  a  report  on  child  labor.  However,  in  this 
case  the  investigations  were  r^ade  by  town  and  city  of- 
ficials, not  by  the  committee  itself.  See  Commons  and 
Andrews,  Principles  of  Labor  Legislation,  p.  421. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  117 

menting  upon  this  law,  declared  that  employees  were 
forced  to  sign  contracts  to  work  more  than  ten 
hours  or  lose  their  jobs.  It  was  also  alleged  that 
a  secret  agreement  existed  among  employers 
throughout  the  State.^^  In  1848,  Pennsylvania 
passed  a  ten-hour  law  for  textile  mills.  This  law 
was  also  easily  evaded.  The  employment  of  chil- 
dren under  twelve  years  of  age  was  prohibited.  In 
1853,  through  an  agreement  between  employers  and 
employees,  the  manufacturers  of  Delaware  County, 
Pennsylvania,  were  operated  on  a  ten-hour  basis.^^ 
In  1853,  Rhode  Island  also  passed  a  ten-hour  law 
which  was  rendered  worthless  by  a  clause  permit- 
ting special  contracts.  California  passed  a  ten- 
hour  law  in  1853;  and  Connecticut  followed  suit 
in  1855. 

The  friends  of  the  ten-hour  measure  In  Massa- 
chusetts refused  to  be  satisfied  with  a  sham  law  like 
that  of  New  Hampshire;  but  the  workers  were  not 
strong  enough  to  force  the  passage  of  a  law  which 
was  worth  while.  The  strength  of  the  laissca  faire 
principle  against  which  the  ten-hour  advocates  con- 
tended is  clearly  shown  by  a  report  of  a  committee 
of  the  lower  house  in  Massachusetts.  "We  think 
it  would  be  better  if  the  hours  of  labor  were  less, 
if  more  time  were  allowed  for  meals,  if  more  at- 
tention were  paid  to  ventilation  and  pure  air."   The 

^New  York  Tribune,  October  16,  1847. 
^Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society, 
vol.  8,  pp.  i88ff. 


ii8  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

committee,  however,  held  that  legislation  was  not 
the  proper  remedy.  We  "look  for  it  in  the  progres- 
sive movement  in  art  and  science,  in  a  higher  ap- 
preciation of  man's  destiny,  in  a  less  love  for  money, 
and  a  more"  ardent  love  for  social  happiness  and  in- 
tellectual superiority.^^ 

The  agitation  continued  with  gradually  lessen- 
ing vigor  until  about  1856,  by  which  time  the  slav- 
ery question  became  the  topic  of  all-absorbing  in- 
terest. In  1853,  many  mills  granted  a  sixty-six 
hour  week.  During  the  period  of  agitation,  the 
working  day  was  materially  shortened  in  many 
trades  outside  the  factories.^*  Labor  legislation 
was  practically  at  a  standstill  from  1856  to  1866. 
The  attention  of  every^body  was  focused  upon  prob- 
lems directly  connected  with  the  war. 

Up  to  1848,  a  large  percentage  of  the  mill  opera- 
tives had  been  New  England  men  and  women;  but 
the  influx  of  immigrants  from  Europe  had  started 
a  decade  earlier.  Beginning  in  1848,  and  lasting 
three  or  four  years,  occurred  a  depression  in  the 
textile  industry.  This  depression,  which  was  ac- 
companied by  a  large  amount  of  unemployment  and 
by  reductions  of  wages,  coupled  with  the  growing 
prejudice  between  men  of  different  nationalities, 
caused  the  native  New  England  workers  to  become 
dissatisfied  with  conditions  in  the  factories.  And^ 
as  railways  and  better  roads  were  beginning  to  make 

"Quoted  Persons,  p.  49. 
"Quoted  Persons,  pp.  75  and  88. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  119 

the  West  more  easily  accessible,  many  now  turned 
their  faces  toward  the  virgin  farm  lands  of  the 
West.  The  immigrant  replaced  the  New  Eng- 
lander;  and  the  character  of  the  mill  population 
changed  rapidly.  The  potato  famine  in  Ireland  sent 
thousands  of  Irish  immigrants  to  this  country  and 
many  of  the  newcomers  found  jobs  in  the  textile 
factories  of  New  England.  "In  1846,  the  number 
of  Irish  in  the  Lowell  mills  had  been  insignificant. 
In  January,  1853,  ^^  was  stated  by  competent  au- 
thority that  more  than  a  third  of  the  11,976  opera- 
tives were  foreigners."  ^^  It  is  frequently  urged 
that  the  standard  of  living  of  the  mill  workers  was 
lowered  as  a  consequence  of  immigration,  and  that 
the  new  workers  were  willing  to  work  for  lower 
wages  and  under  more  unfavorable  conditions  than 
the  American.  But,  it  must  be  remembered,  the 
standard  of  living  of  the  unskilled  American  laborer 
of  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  ex- 
ceedingly low. 

The  replacement  of  native-born  workers  by  for- 
eign-born workers  in  the  factories  of  New  England 
caused  a  shifting  of  the  arguments  for  and  against 
a  shorter  working  day,  child  labor  and  other  laws 
in  regard  to  working  conditions.  The  opponents 
of  labor  legislation  had  frequently  urged  that  the 
independent  American  did  not  need  paternalistic 
legislation  for  protection.  With  the  influx  of  for- 
eigners, however,  this  argument  could  no  longer  be 

"Quoted  Persons,  p.  57. 


I20  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

used;  and  the  friends  of  labor  legislation  began  to 
urge  that  these  newcomers  needed  the  protection  of 
the  law.  Moreover,  temporarily  at  least,  the  politi- 
cal strength  of  labor  was  weakened.  The  agitation 
for  a  shorter  working  day  and  for  improved  work- 
ing conditions  was  affected  by  the  influx  of  immi- 
grants in  two  different  ways.  i.  The  mill  workers 
became  less  self-reliant  and  somewhat  more  docile, 
and,  hence,  factory  legislation  was  needed  to  a 
greater  extent  in  order  to  curb  the  employer.  2. 
But  the  workers  were  less  able  to  carry  on  a  suc- 
cessful agitation  and  to  make  their  political  influ- 
ence felt. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War, 
perhaps  the  most  significant  demand  made  by  the 
wage  earners  was  for  an  eight-hour  day.  It  was 
now  boldly  urged  that  the  shorter  working  day  by 
increasing  the  amount  of  leisure  time  for  the  work- 
ers would  raise  their  standard  of  living.  The  de- 
mand for  an  eight-hour  day  was  voiced  by  organ- 
ized labor  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  "In  June, 
1868,  on  the  eve  of  a  presidential  election,  Congress 
passed  a  soon-to-be-emasculated  eight-hour  law 
applying  to  all  laborers  and  mechanics  'employed  by 
or  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  government.' 
The  National  Labor  Union  loudly  proclaimed  that 
it  had  been  a  potent  factor  in  securing  the  passage 
of  this  act."  i« 

"Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor, 
pp.  59-60. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  121 

Eight-hour  leagues  were  formed  in  various  states. 
In  Connecticut,  the  labor  unionists  formed  such  a 
league,  and  in  1867  they  took  part  in  the  guberna- 
torial election.  "Their  campaigns  were  conducted 
under  an  eight-hour  issue.  They  were  promised,  if 
successful,  an  eight-hour  law.  The  dominant  party 
did  give  them  an  eight-hour  law  but  spoiled  it  for 
the  laborers  by  adding  a  rider  that  it  should  not  be 
obligatory  if  there  was  an  agreement  otherwise."  ^"^ 
The  California  legislature  in  1868  after  several 
years  of  agitation  on  the  part  of  organized  labor 
passed  an  eight-hour  law.  This  act  provided  that 
eight  hours  should  constitute  a  legal  day's  work  un- 
less a  special  contract  was  made.  It  was  also  pro- 
vided that  eight  hours  should  constitute  the  legal 
day  on  public  works.  As  a  result  of  a  decision  of 
the  State  Supreme  Court,  "the  eight-hour  law  of 
1868  became  little  more  than  the  enunciation  of  a 
principle,  or  a  recommendation  without  power  of 
enforcement."^^  The  California  law  of  1853  pro- 
viding for  a  ten-hour  day,  unlike  others  of  that  pe- 
riod, 1 847- 1 868,  seems  to  have  been  effective,  but  it 
doubtless  was  made  so  because  of  the  extra-legal 
strength  of  organized  labor. 

The  establishment  of  Bureaus  of  Statistics  of 
Labor  was  favored  by  the  wage  earners  in  the  period 

"  Quoted  in  Ldwards,  The  Labor  Legislation  of  Con- 
necticut, p.  75,  from  Report  of  Connecticut  Bureau  of 
Labor  Statistics,  1902,  p.  332. 

"  Eaves,  History  of  California  Labor  Legislation,  p. 
211. 


122  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

immediately  following  the  Civil  War.  The  pioneer 
in  the  field  was  Massachusetts.  The  organization 
of  these  bureaus  meant  the  beginning  of  careful  and 
exact  investigations  of  labor  conditions.  In  con- 
nection with  the  establishment  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  in  1869,  the  following 
statement  is  significant :  "Perhaps  an  inference  may 
be  drawn  as  to  the  confidence  felt  by  the  laborers 
in  the  justice  of  their  cause  from  the  fact  that  the 
bureau  whose  function  was  to  be  careful  first  hand 
inspection  of  conditions  was  established  on  their  ex- 
pressed request."  ^^  The  wage  workers  also  favored 
the  establishment  of  a  federal  department  of  labor. 
For  example,  in  1869,  the  official  publication  of  the 
National  Labor  Union  demanded  such  a  depart- 
ment; and  the  California  State  Labor  Convention 
which  met  in  January,  1872,  favored  a  federal  labor 
bureau. 

Little  labor  legislation  of  the  now  familiar  type 
was  passed  until  after  1880.  The  agitation  on  the 
part  of  the  wage  earners  during  preceding  decades 
secured  the  passage  of  mechanics'  lien  laws,  of  laws 
abolishing  imprisonment  for  debt,  and  of  laws  pro- 
viding better  educational  facilities.  Not  until  or- 
ganizations of  workingmen  became  stronger,  more 
coherent  and  more  permanent,  and  not  until  after 
nearly  all  desirable  free  land  was  taken  up,  did  the 
demand  for  laws  providing  effectively  for  a  shorter 
working  day,  for  the  restriction  of  child  labor,  and 

"  Persons,  Labor  Laivs  and.  Their  Enforcement,  p.  109. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  123 

for  the  protection  of  wage  earners  while  at  work, 
become  sufficiently  strong  to  prod  our  legislatures 
into  activity.  Nevertheless,  the  long,  insistent  agi- 
tation must  have  played  an  important  role  in  pre- 
paring the  wa3^  In  recent  years,  organized  labor 
has  been  a  leading  factor  in  securing  the  passage 
of  a  multitude  of  labor  laws, — often  in  the  face  of 
bitter  opposition  from  employers  of  labor.  One 
of  the  chief  purposes,  if  not  the  chief  purpose,  of 
State  Federations  of  Labor  is  political,  to  influence, 
legislation.  In  addition  to  legislation  directly  af- 
fecting working  conditions,  organized  labor  has 
exerted  its  influence  toward  securing  such  reforms 
as  the  Australian  ballot  system,  the  initiative  and 
referendum,  and  civil  service  reform. 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  give  concrete  illus- 
trations of  the  part  which  organized  labor  played 
in  the  last  two  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century  in 
securing  the  passage  of  labor  legislation;  but  a  few 
will  be  presented.  "The  alien  contract  labor  law 
was  enacted  almost  solely  at  the  demand  of  organ- 
ized labor."  In  order  to  meet  what  the  wage  earn- 
ers considered  to  be  unfair  competition  "the  labor 
unions,  and  especially  the  Knights  of  Labor,  secured 
through  Congress  specific  legislation  known  as  the 
alien  contract  labor  law  of  1885,  with  the  amend- 
ments of  1886  and  1888."  20  This  federal  statute 
bars  from  the  country  aliens  who  arrive  under  con- 
tract to  work  for  some  American  employer  of  labor. 

'"Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission^  vol.  15,  p.  647. 


1124  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

In  the  eighties,  in  spite  of  much  opposition,  New 
Jersey  definitely  "committed  itself  to  the  policy  of 
restricting  child  employment.  But  this  it  did  chiefly 
under  pressure  from  labor  organizations."  ^^  In 
Connecticut,  "since  1885,  organized  labor  has  been 
the  chief  factor  in  securing  labor  legislation,  either 
by  direct  legislative  campaigns  or  by  agitation  out- 
side the  legislature,  or  by  both.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  without  the  influence  exerted  by  organized  la- 
bor, few  of  the  labor  laws  would  have  been  passed 
when  they  were,  and,  probably,  many  of  them  never 
would  have  been  passed."  ^^ 

For  at  least  half  a  century  organized  labor  has 
demanded  changes  in  the  system  of  labor  employed 
in  American  prisons.  As  early  as  1864,  a  vice-pres- 
ident of  the  molders'  union  was  ordered  to  work  for 
a  bill  before  the  New  York  legislature  "regulating 
prison  labor."  Year  after  year  representatives  of 
organized  labor  have  been  demanding  the  abolition 
of  the  contract  convict  labor  system.  The  activity 
of  the  molders  of  Ohio  in  securing  legislation  abol- 
ishing contract  labor  in  the  Ohio  penitentiary  is 
worthy  of  mention.  Candidates  for  the  legislature 
were  forced  to  commit  themselves  upon  the  propo- 
sition; and  representatives  of  the  molders'  union 
went  to  the  capitol  of  the  State.  "Whenever  luke- 
warmness  or  an  inclination  to  'side-step'  was  ob- 
served, the  Business  Agent  at  once  informed  local 

"  Field,  Tke  Child  Labor  Policy  of  New  Jersey,  p.  218. 
**  Edwards,  Labor  Legislation  in  Connecticut,  p.  314. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  125 

unions  in  each  district  and  they,  in  turn,  saw  to  it 
that  the  doubtful  legislators  were  liberally  supplied 
with  communications  informing  them  that  their  ac- 
tions must  come  up  to  their  campaign  promises."  ^^ 
A  well-informed  student  of  penology  gives  organ- 
ized labor  much  credit  for  the  improvement  of  pris- 
on conditions.  "Organized  labor  with  its  long 
and  persistent  agitation  against  the  unfair  competi- 
tion of  convict  goods  upon  the  open  market  prob- 
ably has  been  the  strongest  force  toward  the  de- 
velopment of  the  State's  function  in  the  care  of  the 
prisoner.  As  the  control  of  the  State  upon  prison 
industries  has  become  greater,  the  power  of  labor 
to  restrict  them  through  control  of  the  State  Legis- 
latures has  become  also  greater,  and  the  history  of 
most  of  our  States  shows  that,  when  labor  is  once 
aroused  to  an  antagonism  to  any  specific  form  of 
commodity  manufactured  in  prison,  sufficient  influ- 
ence can  be  brought  to  bear  to  abolish  its  manufac- 
ture." 2* 

Organized  labor  also  played  an  important  role  in 
the  long  struggle  to  give  seamen  rights  similar  to 
those  accorded  wage  workers  on  land.  Before  the 
passage  of  the  Seamen's  Act  of  191 5.  seamen  were 
treated  "as  deficient  in  that  full  and  intelligent  re- 
sponsibility for  their  acts  which  is  accredited  to  or- 
dinary adults."  For  a  score  of  years,  Andrew  Fur- 
useth,    president    of    the    International    Seamen's 

^  Stockton,  International  Molders'  Journal,  June,  1916. 
^^'hitm,  Penal  Servitude,  p.  7. 


126  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Union,  had -worked  with  unflagging  energy  to  ob- 
tain the  passage  of  a  law  making  "the  sailor  a  free 
man."  ^s 

The  attitude  of  organized  labor  toward  the  restric- 
tion of  immigration,  especially  Chinese  immigra- 
tion, is  worthy  of  more  extended  notice.  The  west- 
ward migration  of  European  peoples  has  constituted 
a  selective  process.  The  alert,  vigorous,  self-reliant 
and  aggressive  have  been  ever  the  followers  of  the 
frontier  line.  In  California,  the  extreme  west, 
separated  from  the  eastern  section  by  important 
natural  barriers,  the  characteristics  of  the  fron- 
tier type  were  found  raised  to  their  highest 
power.  Growth  was  rapid  in  the  early  years  of 
Calif omian  history,  money  was  plentiful,  labor 
scarce,  and  a  new  labor  supply  difficult  to  obtain. 
"For  many  years  there  was  no  great  industrial  cen- 
ter between  San  Francisco  and  the  Mississippi  from 
which  a  supply  of  skilled  labor  could  be  drawn." 
Yet,  here  in  this  coast  country  of  high  wages  and 
deficient  labor  supply,  a  veritable  unionists'  para- 
dise, came  the  menace  of  the  low-grade  immigrant 
in  its  most  extreme  form.  The  workers  of  the  Pa- 
cific Coast  faced  the  danger  of  a  flood  of  low-stand- 
ard-of-living  Orientals  who  had  learned  to  live  un- 
der conditions  considered  impossible  by  the  alert  and 
ambitious  western  workingmen.  The  comparative 
isolation  of  California>and  the  constant  dread  of  the 
Oriental  contributed  the  chief  elements  which  made 

"La  Follette,  La  Follette's  Magazine,  April,  1915. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  127 

the  labor  organizations  of  that  state  peculiarly  strong 
and  effective  industrially  and  politically. 

"From  the  early  fifties  to  the  present  time  there 
have  besn  organizations  in  which  all  classes  of  wage 
workers  joined  to  promote  the  exclusion  of  Asiatic 
labor.  It  is  the  one  subject  upon  which  there  has 
never  been  the  slightest  difference  of  opinion,  the 
one  measure  on  which  it  has  always  been  possible 
to  obtain  concerted  action."  ^®  And,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  frequent  strikes,  high  wages  and  the  con- 
stant agitation  of  the  American  workingmenjcaused 
the  employers  in  California  to  look  with  special 
favor  upon  the  docile  and  uncomplaining  Chinese 
coolie  who  was  quite  willing  to  accept  a  low  wage 
for  a  long  working  day.  The  Chinese  coolie  was 
considered  by  many  employers  to  approximate  the 
ideal  employee  or  hand. 

Throughout  the  long  and  bitter  agitation  against 
Chinese  immigration  culminating  in  the  exclusion 
act  of  1882  the  wage  earners  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
were  aggressive  and  untiring.  At  the  present  time, 
organized  labor  would  doubtless  vigorously  oppose 
any  proposition  favoring  the  admission  of  Chinese 
laborers  on  the  same  terms  as  those  from  European 
countries.  The  American  Federation  of  Labor  in 
191 1  endorsed  the  report  of  the  recent  Immigration 
Commission  which  advocated  increased  restriction 
upon  immigration,  and  has  used  its  influence  to  se- 
cure the  passage  of  the  bills  before  Congress  which 

**  Eaves,  History  of  California  Labor  Legislation,  p.  6. 


128  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

provided  for  the  literacy  test.  The  literacy  test  was 
included  in  the  provisions  of  the  bill  passed  over  the 
President's  veto  in  19 17. 

The  socialist  movement  is  international;  and  the 
traditional  policy  of  the  socialists  has  been  one  of 
opposition  to  the  restriction  of  the  freedom  of  mi- 
gration from  one  country  to  another.  The  Interna- 
tional Socialist  Congress  held  at  Stuttgart  in  1907 
adopted  a  resolution  in  favor  of  the  "abolition  of  all 
restrictions  which  exclude  definite  nationalities  or 
races  from  the  right  of  sojourn  in  the  country." 
But  the  American  socialists  are  no  longer  united  in 
favor  of  unrestricted  immigration.  The  American 
SociaHst  Party  Congresses  of  1910  and  1912  were 
divided  upon  the  immigration  question.  A  consid- 
erable and  influential  element  in  the  two  Congresses 
favored  the  continued  exclusion  of  Asiatic  laborers. 
The  Socialist  Labor  Party  in  191 6  indorsed  the 
Stuttgart  resolution  in  regard  to  immigration.  The 
socialists  have  opposed  the  literacy  test;  and  Mr. 
London,  the  socialist  member  of  Congress,  voted 
against  the  bill  providing  for  the  literacy  test.^'^ 

In  recent  years,  the  agitation  for  labor  legislation 
has  entered  a  new  phase ;  many  far-sighted  employ- 
ers are  to-day  favoring  such  legislation  as  working- 
men's  compensation,  old  age  pensions  and  minimum 
wage  laws.  Large  scale,  corporate  industry  now 
plans   for  the  future;  and,  consequently,  the  effi- 

'"  The  American  Labor  Year  Book,  1916,  pp.  94,  322; 
The  Socialism  of  To-day,  1916,  pp.  495ff. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  129 

ciency  of  the  future  labor  supply  has  become  a  mat- 
ter of  concern.  This  situation  has  caused  employers 
actuated  by  business  rather  than  by  humanitarian 
reasons  to  advocate,  or  at  least  not  to  oppose,  such 
measures  as  those  mentioned  above.  Paternalism 
or  state  socialism  was  a  leading  tenet  of  the  middle- 
class  insurgent  of  the  first  part  of  the  second  decade 
of  the  twentieth  century;  but  the  war  perceptibly 
weakened  the  strength  of  the  movement  for  state 
socialism.  Labor  legislation  which  aims  to  reduce 
the  sickness,  accident  and  death  rates,  and  to  in- 
crease the  working  efficiency  of  the  wage  earners  of 
the  country^  now  meets  with  little  opposition  from 
the  large  and  far-seeing  employers  of  the  country. 
Only  a  group  of  reactionaries  who  still  cling  to 
eighteenth  century  ideals  are  in  bitter  and  out- 
spoken opposition  to  welfare  legislation.  Business 
managers  are  beginning  to  see  that  an  inefficient  and 
constantly  changing  labor  force  is  undesirable;  that, 
in  the  long  run,  an  efficient  force  is  worth  the  sacrifice 
of  a  portion  of  immediate  profits. 

With  the  elimination  of  the  frontier,  the  disap- 
pearance of  unappropriated  natural  resources,  cen- 
tralization in  industry,  and  the  application  of  scien- 
tific methods  in  business,  a  new  era  opened.  Unre- 
stricted competition  with  its  wastefulness  and  short- 
sightedness did  not  assume  a  menacing  attitude  so 
long  as  resources  seemed  inexhaustible.  But  after 
the  mantle  of  private  property  was  spread  over  the 
best  of  America's  natural  wealth,  after  the  pioneer 


130  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

farmer,  the  rule-of-thumb  manufacturer,  and  the 
reckless  miner  had  skimmed  the  cream  from  the 
enormous,  but  not  unHmited,  resources  of  the  nation, 
a  new  situation  obtained.  Corporations  looking  far 
into  the  future  came  into  being.  Even  before  the 
Great  War  opened,  questions  centering  around  the 
supply  of  raw  materials  and  of  labor  began  to  at- 
tract attention;  and  the  leading  captains  of  industry- 
began  to  discard  the  laissez-faire  policy.  They  be- 
gan to  join  hands  with  wage  earners  and  social 
workers  in  demanding  certain  forms  of  labor  legis- 
lation. This  modification  in  the  attitude  of  employ- 
ers was  due  directly  to  the  extraordinary  economic 
and  industrial  changes  of  recent  decades  which  have 
transformed  the  face  of  the  American  continent, 
and  made  us  a  nation  of  urban  dwellers  and  indus- 
trial workers  living  without  a  frontier  to  act  as  a 
safety  valve.  Charity  organization  societies,  Black- 
well's  Islands,  homes  for  the  defectives,  jails  and 
the  like  are  expensive.  Welfare  legislation  of  the 
recent  type  will  tend  to  improve  the  conditions  of 
city  life,  to  reduce  the  number  of  weaklings,  defec- 
tives, degenerates  and  delinquents.  Such  legisla- 
tion will,  therefore,  on  the  one  hand  tend  to  improve 
the  efficiency  of  the  labor  force  of  the  country  and, 
on  the  other,  to  reduce  the  cost  of  caring  for  the 
subnormal  and  abnormal  members  of  the  com- 
munity. 

But,  although  the  employer  has  within  a  decade 
materially  shifted  his  point  of  view,  it  does  not  fol- 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  131 

low  that  he  has  taken  that  held  by  the  wage  earner. 
The  employers'  point  of  view  is  only  an  up-to-date 
Hamiltonian  point  of  view.  The  conservation  of 
human  resources  will  produce  a  more  efficient  and 
effective  working  force.  Benevolent  paternalism, 
not  industrial  democracy,  is  still  the  aim  of  the 
average  employer.  Herein  lies  the  cleavage  between 
the  working  and  the  employing  classes. 

Industrial  concentration  and  integratioti  and  the 
entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the  War  have 
brought  about  a  peculiar  modification  in  the  attitude 
of  different  classes  toward  social  welfare  legisla- 
tion. This  shifting  of  alignment  may  be  illustrated 
by  considering  minimum  wage  legislation.  A  quar- 
ter of  a  century  ago,  a  proposal  to  establish  a  mini- 
mum wage  for  women  and  children  employed  in  a 
few  sweated  industries  would  have  received  support 
only  from  a  small  portion  of  the  wage  earners  and 
from  certain  humanitarian  leaders.  The  employers 
and  the  middle  class  generally  would  have  hailed  it 
as  dangerously  radical.  In  1912,  Massachusetts 
passed  a  minimum  wage  law.  This  was  the  first 
measure  of  its  kind  placed  upon  the  statute  books 
of  an  American  commonwealth.  But  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  eight  states  enacted  similar  legislation ;  and 
at  the  opening  of  the  year  19 18,  twelve  states  had 
such  legislation  upon  their  statute  books. 

In  the  immediate  future,  opposition  to  such  wel- 
fare measures  as  minimum-wage  laws  may  be  ex- 
pected to  come  chiefly  f«rom  groups  of  reactionary 


132  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

employers,  from  radical  groups  of  socialists  and 
from  organized  labor.  The  socialists,  and  many- 
unionists  who  are  not  socialists,  fear  that  the  ten- 
dency of  such  legislation  is  toward  what  has  aptly 
been  termed  "benevolent  feudalism."  They  declare 
that  the  able  and  far-seeing  leaders  of  the  capitalists 
have  found  that  underpaid  labor  is  not  profitable 
in  the  long  run.  From  this  point  of  view,  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  legal  minimum  wage  will  aid  the 
capitalist  in  developing  an  efficient  source  of  labor 
power,  and  in  preventing  the  growth  of  organized 
labor.  In  short,  the  impossibilist  socialist  and 
others  declare  that  minimum  wage  and  other  wel- 
fare legislation  are  business  propositions.  Certain 
it  is  that  organized  labor  in  the  United  States  in 
the  months  immediately  preceding  April,  19 17,  was 
placing  less  and  less  emphasis  upon  legislation  which 
aimed  to  regulate  the  terms  of  employment.  This 
changed  point  of  view  of  organized  labor  in  regard 
to  legislation  was  of  recent  origin.  The  further 
discussion  of  this  point  has  been  reserved  for  chap- 
ter X. 

Since  about  1908,  organized  labor  has  stressed 
legislation  of  the  third  type.  The  sweeping  injunc- 
tion granted  in  the  Buck  Stove  and  Range  Case, 
the  subsequent  prosecution  of  the  labor  leaders. 
President  Gompers,  Vice-President  IMitchell  and 
Secretary  Morrison  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor,  the  Danbury  Hatters'  case  which  approved 
the  mulcting  of  organized  labor  for  damages  under 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  133 

the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Act,  and  the  frequent  use 
of  the  injunction  in  the  case  of  strikes  and  boycotts, 
led  organized  labor,  beginning  about  1908,  vigor- 
ously to  demand  federal  legislation  granting  exemp- 
tion to  unions  from  anti-trust  legislation  and  re- 
stricting the  use  of  the  injunction.  The  emphasis 
was  placed  upon  laws  distinctly  favorable  to  organ- 
ized labor  rather  than  upon  legislation  beneficial  to 
the  wage  earners  as  a  class.  The  issue  was  forced 
by  the  decisions  of  the  courts  and  the  menace  aris- 
ing out  of  the  political  activities  of  such  anti-union 
associations  as  the  National  Association  of  Manu- 
facturers and  tlie  American  Anti-Boycott  Associa- 
tion.28 

After  several  years  of  active  agitation,  the  so- 
called  Clayton  Act,  amending  the  Sherman  Act,  was 
passed  in  1914.  This  act  specifically  states  that  labor 
is  not  a  commodity.  It  declares  that  labor  organi- 
zations shall  not  be  considered  illegal  combinations 
under  the  federal  anti-trust  laws ;  and  it  also  limits 
the  right  of  the  federal  courts  to  issue  injunctions 
in  the  case  of  labor  disputes.  The  Clayton  Act  has 
been  called  "the  charter  of  industrial  liberty" ;  and 
it  has  been  held  by  the  friends  of  organized  labor  to 
constitute  an  important  item  in  the  annals  of  labor 
organizations.    But  some  competent  authorities  hold 

^  The  decision  in  Hitchman  Coal  &  Coke  Co.  case  re- 
newed the  interest  in  political  action  on  the  part  of  organ- 
ized labor. 


134  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

that  the  law  makes  little  change  in  the  legal  status 
of  union  labor. 

As  this  legislation  does  not  control  the  decisions 
of  state  courts,  labor  leaders  are  attempting  to  ob- 
tain similar  legislation  in  the  different  states.  One 
of  the  most  capable  spokesmen  of  organized  labor, 
Mr.  John  P.  Frey,  writes  that  "no  half-way  meas- 
ures can  be  satisfactory.  The  contest  has  been 
forced  upon  us  by  State  Courts,  and  we  must  cen- 
tralize our  forces  upon  the  next  State  Legislatures 
in  such  a  manner  as  will  force  them  to  enact  laws 
which  safeguard  our  rights  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  separate  states  as  effectively  as  they  are  now 
safeguarded  by  the  law  of  the  land."  ^^  The  first 
test  of  these  state  laws  has  resulted  in  a  decision  un- 
favorable to  the  demands  of  organized  labor.  In 
19 1 6,  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts  held  the 
law  of  that  state,  passed  in  1904  but  similar  in  many 
respects  to  the  Clayton  Act,  to  be  unconstitutional. 
The  act  declared  among  other  things  that  the  labor 
contract  should  be  held  to  be  a  personal,  not  a  prop- 
erty, right.  The  court  decided  that  this  clause  is  a 
violation  of  the  provisions  of  the  fourteenth  amend- 
ment to  the  Federal  Constitution. 

It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  organized  labor  has, 
with  some  exceptions,  held  aloof  from  one  of  the 
great  movements  which  promises  much  for  the  wage 
earners  of  the  nation.  The  long  campaign  against 
alcohol  received  little  encouragement  from  organ- 

" International  Holders'  Journal,  July,  1916,  p.,  622. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  135 

ized  labor.  But  it  seems  clear  that  a  de-alcoholized 
and  alert  mass  of  industrial  workers  is  essential  to 
successful  progress  toward  better  working  condi- 
tions and  toward  industrial  democracy.  The  senti- 
ment in  regard  to  this  refonn  movement,  among' 
workers,  however,  gives  indication  of  changing. 

Unenforced  legislation  is  worse  in  some  respects 
than  no  legislation.  If  it  is  to  accomplish  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  was  ostensibly  passed,  labor  legis- 
lation must  be  supported  by  efficient  and  sympathet- 
ic administration.  Administration  "is  a  method 
of  legislation;"  it  "is  legislation  in  action."  ^^  In- 
deed, it  is  as  vital,  or  more  vital,  than  legislation. 
The  importance  of  efficient  administration  of  laws 
has  usually  been  overlooked.  Too  often  reformers 
of  many  types  and  the  members  of  labor  organiza- 
tions have  eagerly  and  earnestly  demanded  and  ob- 
tained certain  reform  measures  only  to  find  the 
laws  unenforced  or  unenforceable.  In  recent  years 
the  problems  of  administration  are  fortunately  at- 
tracting more  and  more  attention.  If  labor  legisla- 
tion be  administered  by  officials  favorable  to  its  en- 
forcement, one  result  will  follow;  but  if  adminis- 
tered by  officials  unfavorable  to  its  proper  enforce- 
ment, a  very  different  result  will  be  noted.  Labor 
laws  administered  by  officials  antagonistic  to  the  de- 
mands and  aspirations  of  American  workingmen 
will  not  accomplish  the  results  anticipated  by  the 

**  Commons  and  Andrews,  Principles  of  LUhor  Legisla- 
tion, p.  415. 


136  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

friends  of  such  legislation.  On  the  other  hand,  la- 
bor legislation  enforced  by  officials  in  sympathy 
with  the  working  class  may  be  expected  to  bring 
consequences  which  are  looked  upon  with  favor  by 
the  workers. 

A  considerable  number  of  union  men  are  holding 
administrative  offices  in  the  federal  and  state  service. 
The  cases  of  Mr.  Powderly,  formerly  head  of  the 
Knights  of  Labor,  of  John  Mitchell,  former  presi- 
dent of  the  United  Mine  Workers,  and  of  Secretary 
of  Labor  Wilson,  former  secretary  of  the  same 
organization,  are  well  known.  Mr.  Portenar,  a 
union  printer  and  the  author  of  a  book  entitled, 
Problems  of  Organised  Labor,  was  (1916)  the  su- 
perintendent of  the  Bureau  of  Employment  in  the 
New  York  State  Department  of  Labor;  Mr.  J.  M. 
Lynch,  former  president  of  the  Typographical 
Union,  was  a  member  of  the  Industrial  Commission 
of  New  York;  Mr.  E.  E.  Clark,  former  head  of  the 
Railway  Conductors,  was  a  member  of  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission;  Mr.  W.  J.  French, 
ex-president  of  the  San  Francisco  Typographical 
Union,  was  a  member  of  the  state  industrial  acci- 
dent commission;  and  Thomas  J.  Duffy,  former 
president  of  the  National  Brotherhood  of  Operative 
Potters,  was  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Industrial  Com- 
mission. The  Commissioner  of  Immigration  for 
the  port  of  Boston  was  a  union  man.  In  the  autumn 
of  19 1 7,  John  P.  White  resigned  the  presidency  of 
the  United  Mine  Workers  to  become  one  of  the  two 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  137 

chief  assistants  of  Coal  Administrator  Garfield.  Ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  certain  states,  some  appoin- 
tive positions  must  be  filled  by  wage  workers.  For 
example,  in  Illinois  three  of  the  commissioners  of 
labor  must  be  manual  laborers;  in  Massachusetts 
and  Pennsylvania  one  must  be  a  wage  earner;  in 
Ohio  the  chief  deputy  under  the  industrial  commis- 
sion must  be  a  practical  mechanic;  Virginia  and 
West  Virginia  require  the  commissioner  of  labor 
to  be  identified  with  the  labor  interests  of  the 
State.31 

The  appointment  of  a  considerable  number  of  in- 
fluential persons  in  the  ranks  of  labor  organizations 
to  positions  in  the  federal  and  state  service  will  have 
two  somewhat  antagonistic  effects.  First,  the  ad- 
ministration of  labor  laws  will  be  more  satisfactory 
to  the  wage  earning  group  than  is  the  case  when  all 
administrative  positions  are  filled  by  persons  antag- 
onistic or  indifferent  to  the  aspirations  of  the  work- 
ers as  a  class.  It  will  even  be  more  satisfactory 
than  when  all  positions  are  filled  by  well-trained 
men  and  women  who  are  not  closely  affiliated  with 
the  wage  workers.  The  presence  of  some  represent- 
atives of  the  wage  earners  will  allay  suspicion  of 
prejudiced  interpretation  and  biased  rulings. 

In  the  second  place,  however,  it  has  been  pointed 
out  that  "one  of  the  disasters  of  trade  unionism  is 
the  ambition  of  its  own  members  for  political  jobs 

"American  Labor  Legislation  Rcvie-uu,  December,  1913. 


138  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  salaries."  ^^  As  soon  as  a  union  man  gets  a 
political  appointment,  he  is  in  danger  of  losing  his 
enthusiasm  for  unionism.  His  job  depends  too 
often  upon  political  pull  and  astuteness  rather  than 
upon  activity  in  union  circles.  He  comes  in  con- 
tact with  new  associates  and  new  influences;  his 
point  of  view  changes.  If  the  political  appointee 
owed  his  position  to  the  success  of  a  distinct  labor 
party  doubtless  the  results  would  be  quite  different. 
In  short,  the  drafting  of  many  influential  unionists 
into  governmental  positions,  as  well  as  the  promo- 
tion of  certain  unionists  in  private  business,  is  by 
no  means  an  unmixed  good  from  the  standpoint  of 
virile  and  aggressive  unionism.  "Professor  Com- 
mons insists  that  promotion  and  political  prefer- 
ment are  the  important  outlets  from  the  ambitious 
and  the  radical ;  these  are  the  solvents  of  class  soli- 
darity among  the  workers.  The  man  who  is  being 
promoted,  or  who  sees  dangling  before  his  eyes  a 
political  job,  is  furnished  a  potent  incentive  for  con- 
servatism." ^^ 

The  divergence  of  ideas  in  regard  to  the  scope 
and  methods  of  administration  between  social  work- 
ers and  students  of  economics  on  the  one  hand  and 
labor  leaders  on  the  other  is  considerable.  Profes- 
sor Commons  has  presented  the  former  point  of 

•*  Commons  and  Andrews,  Principles  of  Labor  Legisla- 
tion, p.  449. 

"  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organised  Labor, 
p.  92. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  139 

view  in  the  following  fashion : — "Although  employ- 
ers and  employees  may  have  hopelessly  divergent 
opinions  on  policy,  when  that  policy  is  once  de- 
termined upon  by  Congress  they  are  equally  con- 
cerned in  its  efficient  and  disinterested  administra- 
tion." The  administration  law  "should  be  adminis- 
tered by  disinterested  parties  in  cooperation  with 
representatives  of  capital  and  labor."  ^'^  The  union- 
ists have  less  confidence  in  the  possibility  of  disin- 
terested administration.  "Manufacturers,  finan- 
ciers, the  captains  of  industry  and  commerce  have 
been  accorded  ample  representation  consequently 
profits  and  business  expediency  have  been  given  first 
consideration.  But  the  wage  earners  are  fully  aware 
of  the  necessity  of  being  represented  in  all  organi- 
zations or  commissions  authorized  to  determine 
questions  affecting  their  welfare,  and  they  are  now 
demanding  a  full  right  of  representation  in  all  of 
the  activities  of  the  nation's  life.  They  demand 
representatives  of  their  own  choosing  from  among 
wage  earners  who  know  of  the  life  and  problems  of 
wage  earners."  ^^  Organized  labor  insists  that  it 
should  be  represented  upon  such  commissions  as  the 
Tariff  Commission,  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission, the  Pan-American  Commission,  and  the 
various  war-time  commissions  and  boards. 

**  Report  of  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations,  191$, 

PP-  331-^- 

"Report  of  the  Executive  Committee,  Proceedings  of 
the  Convention  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor, 
1916,  p.  IC9. 


I40  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

The  economists  and  social  workers  hold  that  the 
administration  of  legislation  must  become  a  profes- 
sion, a  life  career  for  well-trained  men.  It  is  urged 
that  our  colleges  and  universities  should  become 
training  schools  for  the  public  service.  From  this 
point  of  view,  the  appointment  of  labor  men  or  of 
employers  to  positions  on  commissions  charged  with 
administrative  duties  is  a  mistake.  The  working- 
man,  it  is  confidently  asserted,  does  not  have  an  op- 
portunity to  obtain  the  necessary  training.  Wis- 
consin is  often  pointed  to  as  an  example  of  success 
in  administration;  and  Wisconsin's  success  is  pri- 
marily due  to  the  efforts  of  well-trained  men.  But, 
after  all,  is  the  matter  quite  so  clear  and  simple  as 
the  friends  of  the  trained  expert  assume?  Can  the 
expert  take  a  position  which  will  satisfy  both  sides? 
If  administration  is  "legislation  in  action,"  are  both 
sides  interested  in  "disinterested  administration"? 
In  reality,  are  they  not  interested  as  much  in  partial 
or  one-sided  administration  as  in  legislation  of  that 
type?  Until  some  common  standard  which  both 
sides  accept  is  established,  can  we  expect  expert  ad- 
ministration to  be  eminently  successful? 

In  the  administration  of  labor  legislation,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  human  judgment  and  human  will 
play  a  large  part.  There  exists  in  the  administra- 
tion of  law  as  yet  no  purely  scientific  basis  or  stand- 
ard from  which  no  rational  appeal  is  possible;  the 
matter  cannot  be  definitely  and  authoritatively  set- 
tled by  solving  a  mathematical  equation.    Adminis- 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  141 

trators  are  human ;  they  are  not  supermen;  and  their 
role  is  not  merely  that  of  expert  calculators.  The 
administrator  is  not  dealing  with  purely  objective 
scientific  facts.  Administrative  formulae  contain 
many  variables;  the  personal  equation  of  the  official 
enters  too  largely  for  exact  and  undebatable  deter- 
minations. Furthermore,  if  administration  be  "leg- 
islation in  action,"  is  not  the  principle  of  propor- 
tional or  interest  representation  as  applicable  to  ad- 
ministrative commissions  as  to  legislative  bodies? 

Doubtless  much  can  be  accomplished  by  expert 
administrative  officials  charged  with  the  enforce- 
ment of  labor  legislation;  but  when  vital  interests 
are  at  stake  either  employers  or  employees  are  quite 
likely  to  brand  the  expert  as  unfair  or  prejudiced. 
The  trained  expert  in  social  legislation  treads  a 
much  more  intricate  and  a  much  less  sharply  de- 
fined path  than  does  the  physician  or  the  engineer. 
In  view  of  the  clashing  opinions  of  medical  experts 
in  many  courts,  in  view  of  the  disagreement  among 
experts  in  the  educational  field,  in  view  of  the  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  among  engineering  experts,  and, 
further,  in  view  of  the  unwelcome  fact  that  expert 
advice  and  testimony  in  the  past  has  been  too  often 
shaded  by  the  bread-and-butter  view  of  the  situa- 
tion, is  it  not  asking  too  much  of  human  nature  to 
expect  workers  quietly  to  abide  by  expert  determi- 
nation of  matters  in  the  field  of  social  legislation 
which  are  of  great  practical  and  immediate  import 
to  them?    At  the  present  time,  it  seems  quite  clear 


142  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

that  labor  is  going  to  insist  that  the  expert  in  social 
legislation  be  checked  by  the  power  of  organized 
labor.  Unfortunately,  union  men  are  not  yet  ready 
to  accept  quietly  and  without  protest  the  dictum  of 
well-trained  public  officials  unless  that  dictum  is 
pleasing  to  the  unionists;  and  more  unfortunately 
their  attitude  is  not  very  dissimilar  from  that  of 
other  groups  in  the  community. 

The  great  majority  of  the  reconstruction  puzzles 
after  the  war  are  to  be  primarily  labor  problems. 
These  will  be  solved,  or  at  least  should  be,  in  the 
light  of  war  experiences.  Some  of  the  important 
questions  will  be  minimum  wage  legislation,  greater 
equality  of  income,  the  reduction  of  industrial  con- 
flicts and  of  race  and  national  hatreds,  the  elimina- 
tion of  leisure  except  as  a  vacation.  These  are  in- 
deed problems  which  require  careful  and  scientific 
study;  but  the  experts,  if  they  are  to  accomplish 
worth-while  results,  must  free  themselves  of  all  taint 
of  being  controlled  by  great  financial  interests.  It 
has  been  well  said  that  the  common  man  will  not  ac- 
cept leadership  "from  the  hirelings  of  wealth  on  the 
one  hand,  or  from  the  panders  to  popular  prejudice 
and  passion  on  the  other;"  but  he  will  "gratefully 
accept  disinterested  and  informed  leadership."  ^* 
The  Mitchel  administration  in  New  York  City 
probably  failed  at  the  polls  in  part  because  the  great 
mass  of  the  electorate  felt  its  leadership  was  not 
purely  "disinterested,"  and  in  part  because  they  be- 

"*  Editorial,  The  Nation,  February  28,  1918. 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  143 

lieved  that  the  sweeping  reforms  fathered  by 
Mitchel's  social  workers  and  experts  were  "insti- 
gated by  a  group  of  fussy  and  superior  people  who 
belonged  to  an  alien  social  class."  ^'  The  success 
of  the  National  War  Labor  Board  was  in  no  small 
measure  due  to  the  representation  of  both  labor  and 
capital  upon  the  Board. 

"  The  New  Republic,  May  4,  1918,  p.  6. 


CHAPTER  VII 

OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS  AND  THE  WAGE 
EARNER 

The  Abolition  of  Slavery.  The  early  abolition 
movement  in  the  United  States  was  of  the  humani- 
tarian type.  At  its  head  were  such  men  as  Garrison, 
Birney,  Gerrit  Smith,  Tappan  and  Phillips.  The 
pioneer  abolitionist  met  with  much  bitter  opposition 
not  only  in  the  South  but  in  the  North  as  well.  In 
the  thirties,  a  mob  was  organized  to  attack  James 
G.  Birney  in  Cincinnati,  Lovejoy  was  murdered  in 
Illinois,  and  colored  men  were  ejected  from  trains 
running-  into  Boston.  In  1836,  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  passed  a 
resolution  of  censure  on  two  of  its  members  who 
had  spoken  in  favor  of  abolition.^  Sumner  in  1848 
and  Emerson  in  185 1  were  hissed  by  students  of 
Harvard  College  because  they  dared  to  express  anti- 
slavery  sentiments.  In  Michigan  as  late  as  1850, 
"they  talked  of  tar  and  feathers  for  abolitionists."  ^ 
In  1853,  Frederick  Douglass,  the  famous  Negro,  de- 
clared that  the  "prejudice  against  the  free  colored 
people  has  shown  itself  nowhere  so  invincible  as 

*Hart,  Slavery  and  Abolition,  p.  212. 
'Detroit  Free  Press,  January  6,  1909. 
144 


OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS      145 

among  mechanics."  In  i860,  the  Northwestern 
Christian  Advocate  asserted  that  "slavery  has  never 
been  proven  to  be  a  sin  similar  to  polygamy,  idola- 
try and  drunkenness."  This  organ  of  the  Metho- 
dist Church  also  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
slavery  rested  upon  good  Biblical  authority.  Great 
Presbyterian  divines,  "North  as  well  as  South,  were 
the  most  ardent  protagonists  of  slavery,"  ^ 

In  the  face  of  this  opposition  to  the  abolition 
movement,  what  force  or  forces  operated  to  push 
the  nation  into  the  Civil  War?  The  key  to  this 
complex  and  fascinating  problem  may  be  found  by 
studying  the  industrial  evolution  of  the  North  dur- 
ing the  two  or  three  decades  immediately  preceding 
i860.  Not  the  abolition  but  the  nonextension  of 
slavery  into  the  West  was  the  issue  which  led  direct- 
ly to  the  opening  of  hostilities  between  the  industrial 
and  small  farming  North  and  the  plantation  and 
slaveholding  South.  The  growing  class  of  wage 
workers  in  the  North  came  instinctively  to  feel  that 
slavery  was  a  menace  to  wage  earners  individually 
and  as  a  class.  It  was  felt  that  the  existence  of  slav- 
ery tended  to  depress  the  working  class  of  the  na- 
tion. With  the  rush  of  Irish  and  German  immi- 
grants in  the  forties,  the  eastern  employers  of  wage 
labor  saw  a  new  and  plentiful  source  of  labor  sup- 
ply provided.  They  soon  became  convinced  that  the 
dotting  of  the  great  undeveloped  West  with  small 
farms  would  greatly  increase  the  demand  for  their 

'Dodd,  American  Historical  Review,  vols.  16,  18. 


146  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

manufactured  products  without  making  a  serious 
drain  upon  their  labor  supply.  In  fact,  as  fast  as  the 
native  American  wage  worker  moved  to  the  western 
frontier,  his  place  was  filled  by  the  immigrant  eager 
to  obtain  a  foothold  in  the  promised  land — America. 

As  a  consequence,  the  industrial  interests  and  the 
wage  earners  of  the  North  united  in  opposition  to 
the  extension  of  slavery  and  for  a  homestead  act. 
These  elements  were  chiefly  responsible  for  the  birth 
and  early  growth  of  the  Republican  party.  Many 
of  the  then  recent  immigrants  also  looked  with  favor 
upon  the  program  of  the  Republican  party.  The 
votes  of  the  German  and  other  recent  immigrants 
probably  turned  the  scale  in  several  Western  States 
in  favor  of  Lincoln  and  of  the  Union  in  the  election 
of  i860.  On  that  memorable  election  day,  a  change 
of  one  vote  in  every  twenty  would  have  given  Doug- 
las the  entire  Northwest;  and  Lincoln  would  have 
been  defeated.* 

In  the  election  of  1856,  the  influence  of  manufac- 
ture and  of  the  wage  workers  is  clearly  discernible. 
"Practically  all  the  counties  on  the  line  of  the  Erie 
Canal  and  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Erie  went 
Republican  in  the  election  of  1856,  The  important 
exceptions  were  Erie  County,  in  which  Buffalo  is 
located,  and  three  counties  bordering  on  the  lake. 
Allegheny  County,  including  the  city  of  Pittsburgh, 
was  carried  by  the  Republicans.  All  New  England 
went  Republican.    The  Republican  party  was  strong 

*See  Dodd  in  American  Historical  Review,  vol.  16. 


OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS      147 

wherever  the  New  England  man  had  migrated  and 
along  the  highways  of  commerce  and  communica- 
tion between  the  upper  Mississippi  valley  and  the 
Atlantic  seaboard."  ^ 

In  the  campaign  of  1856,  the  newly  organized  Re- 
publican party  appealed  to  the  working  people  of 
the  North.  Among  the  campaign  documents  used 
in  that  political  contest  is  one  which  calls  attention 
to  assertions  of  Southerners  indicating  that  the  lat- 
ter are  reaching  the  conclusion  that  slavery  of  whites 
as  well  as  blacks  is  desirable.  The  following  quota- 
tions were  printed  in  this  document  intended  for 
campaign  purposes.  The  first  is  alleged  to  be  copied 
from  "a  South  Carolina  paper."  "The  great  evil  of 
Northern  free  society  is  that  it  is  burdened  with  a 
servile  class  of  mechanics  and  laborers  unfit  for  self- 
government,  and  yet  clothed  with  the  attributes  and 
powers  of  citizens.  Master  and  Slave  is  a  relation 
as  necessary  as  that  of  parent  and  child;  and  the 
Northern  States  will  yet  have  to  introduce  it.  Slav- 
ery is  the  natural  and  normal  condition  of  the  labor- 
ing man,  whether  white  or  black."  And  the  Rich- 
mond Enquirer  is  quoted  as  saying  that  the  principle 
of  "Slavery  "does  not  depend  on  difference  of  com<- 

L  coin  in  one  of  the  speeches  made  in  the  famous 
debate  vith  Douglas  in  1854,  stated,  "Slave  States 

*  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organised  Labor, 
p.  49. 
*Pai^^p  let  in  Columbia  University  Library. 


148  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

are  places  for  poor  white  people  to  remove  from, 
not  to  remove  to.  New  free  States  are  the  places 
for  poor  people  to  go  to,  and  better  their  condition. 
For  this  use  the  nation  needs  these  Territories." 
The  extension  of  slavery  into  the  Territories  was 
held  up  as  a  menace  to  the  common  man, — the  wage 
earner  of  the  North.  The  Republican  leaders  were 
trying  to  impress  upon  all  the  workers  and  home- 
seekers  of  the  North  that  the  extension  of  slavery 
into  the  Territories  was  inimical  to  their  best  inter- 
ests. In  the  South  white  laborers  were  trying  to 
restrict  the  occupation  of  the  slave,  and  legislation 
was  demanded  to  aid  them.  In  1845,  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Georgia  passed  an  act  prohibiting  the  hiring 
of  slaves  or  free  Negroes  as  masons  or  mechanics 
for  the  erection  or  repair  of  buildings.'^ 

The  wage  earners  of  the  North,  persons  who 
wished  to  seek  homes  in  the  territories,  the  indus- 
trial interests  of  the  North,  and  the  humanitarians 
and  abolitionists  were  able  to  unite  in  a  sectional 
party  committed  to  the  nonextension  of  slavery.  In- 
dustrialism and  humanitarianism  were  ready  to 
unite  to  oppose  the  Southern  sla  le 

former  were  interested  in  breakir  -n 

supremacy  in  politics  and  in  pre^  n- 

sion  of  slavery  into  nev/  territory  re 

against  both  slavery  extension  ;  If. 

'  Documentary  History  of  Americc  ty, 

vol.  2:  364-65,  360-61.    See  also  Phil  ace 

Quarterly,  vol.  22:428. 


OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS      149 

The  success  of  this  sectional  party — the  Republi- 
can party — in  i860  precipitated  the  Civil  War;  and 
the  abolition  of  slavery  followed  as  an  almost  in- 
evitable consequence. 

It  is  clear  that  the  Northern  workingmen  were  not 
moved  by  an  altruistic  desire  to  aid  the  Negro  slave. 
During  the  war  the  introduction  of  black  workers 
as  competitors  of  the  whites  or  as  strikebreakers  led 
to  serious  disturbances.  "The  competition  offered 
by  Negroes  was  small,  but  in  many  places  it  called 
forth  opposition  which  frequently  passed  beyond 
mere  protest  into  bloodshed  and  murder."^  For 
example,  in  March,  1863,  there  was  a  strike  among 
the  dock  laborers  in  New  York  City.  Some  Negroes 
were  temporarily  employed  as  strikebreakers;  and 
these  were  attacked  by  the  strikers.^  Nevertheless, 
as  long  as  slavery  existed  in  the  United  States  the 
Northern  workingmen  did  not  feel  secure.  They 
feared  encroachments  upon  their  constitutional 
rights.^®  The  real  issue  in  i860,  however,  was  not 
the  abolition  of  slavery. 

The  Preservation  of  the  Union.  In  the  preceding 
section  it  was  pointed  out  that  the  workingmen  of 
the  North  were  firmly  opposed  to  the  further  ex- 
tension of  slavery  into  the  territories.  The  political 
campaign  of  i860  placed  in  power  the  party  defi- 

*  Fite,  Social  cmd  Industrial  Conditions  during  the  Civil 
War,  p.  189. 
"New  York  Tribune,  March  24,  1863;  January  26,  1863. 
"See  Powderly,  Thirty  Years  of  Labor,  p.  51. 


I50  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

nitely  committed  to  this  principle;  and  the  election 
of  Lincoln  was  the  step  which  precipitated  the  se- 
cession movement  on  the  part  of  the  Southern 
States.  In  short,  the  Republican  party  was  essen- 
tially a  nonslavery  extension  party;  but  before  it 
obtained  control  of  the  governmental  machinery, 
an  entirely  new  issue  was  faced.  The  question  of 
the  hour  was  :  Should  or  should  not  coercion  be  used 
to  force  the  Southern  States  to  remain  within  the 
Union?  And  coercion  meant  war  to  the  bitter  end 
between  North  and  South. 

The  attitude  of  the  workingmen  of  the  North 
toward  the  preservation  of  the  Union  by  force  was 
not  essentially  different  from  that  of  the  farmers, 
the  business  men  and  the  professional  men  of  the 
same  section.  The  firing  upon  Fort  Sumter  crystal- 
lized the  sentiment  in  favor  of  preserving  the  Union 
at  all  hazards.  Before  that  time  the  data  available 
indicate  that  the  wage  earners  favored  a  compro- 
mise which  would  avoid  war.  The  workers  were 
also  inclined  to  lay  the  blame  for  the  difficulties 
confronting  the  nation  at  the  door  of  the  "politi- 
cians." 

Many  mass  meetings  of  workingmen  were  held 
in  the  early  part  of  1861 ;  and  a  national  convention 
of  workingmen  met  in  Philadelphia  on  February 
22,  1861.  The  following  references  to  meetings  are 
indicative  of  the  attitude  of  the  wage  earners  dur- 
ing the  trying  weeks  immediately  preceding  the  in- 
auguration of  President  Lincoln.     On  January  12, 


OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS      151 

1 86 1,  the  mechanics  and  workingmen  of  Evansville, 
Indiana,  met  and  passed  resolutions  on  the  state  of 
the  nation.  Copies  were  sent  to  Congress.  The 
resolutions  embodied  the  following  points :  Their 
earnest  support  of  the  Union  and  Constitution  was 
pledged ;  scheming  politicians  were  the  cause  of  the 
pending  troubles;  the  approval  of  the  Crittenden 
compromise ;  the  workingmen  were  urged  to  demand 
the  repeal  of  the  personal  liberty  laws;  the  workers 
were  also  urged  not  to  support  a  party  which  was 
merely  sectional ;  provision  was  made  for  representa- 
tion in  the  workingmen's  convention  held  at  Phila- 
delphia on  February  22,  1861.^^  A  mass  meeting 
of  workingmen  held  in  Philadelphia,  January  26, 
186 1,  petitioned  Congress  to  adopt  the  so-called 
Crittenden  compromise.^^  A  similar  meeting  held 
in  Newark,  New  Jersey,  early  in  January,  also  rec- 
ommended the  adoption  of  the  same  compromise.^* 
An  "immense"  mass  meeting  of  workinginen  was 
held  in  Pittsburgh  on  January  11,  1861.  Resolu- 
tions were  adopted  expressing  devout  attachment  to 
the  Union  and  calling  upon  the  President  to  execute 
the  law.^*  And  even  in  Cincinnati  on  the  Ohio 
River,  resolutions  were  adopted  at  a  meeting  of 
workingmen  held  on  January  4,  1861,  declaring  that 

"  House  of  Representatives,  36th  Congress,  2d  Sess. 
Misc.  Doc.  No.  /p. 

"  House  of  Representatives,  36th  Congress,  2d  Sess. 
Misc.  Doc.  No.  30. 

^  New  York  Tribune,  January  ii,  1861. 

^*  Illinois  State  Register,  January  12,  1861. 


152  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  Union  must  be  preserved.  It  was  also  declared 
that  the  remedy  for  all  grievances  can  be  found  un- 
der the  Constitution.^^  During  the  war,  one  third 
of  the  "average  number  of  men  affiliating"  with  the 
Typographical  Union  No.  6,  of  New  York,  enlisted 
in  the  Northern  army.^® 

The  quite  general  support  of  the  Crittenden  com- 
promise on  the  part  of  the  workingmen  of  the  North 
was  in  harmony  with  the  policy  of  opposition  to 
the  extension  of  slavery  into  the  territories.  Ac- 
cording to  this  compromise,  slavery  was  to  be  ex- 
cluded from  all  territorial  lands  north  of  the  cele- 
brated parallel,  36°  30'.  In  territory  south  of  this 
line  slavery  was  to  be  allowed  under  federal  protec- 
tion. The  workers  could  well  give  adherence  to  this 
proposal  because  it  opened  up  the  Western  lands  to 
the  small  farmer.  There  was  no  movement  of  im- 
portance of  Northern  settlers  into  the  territory  south 
of  the  compromise  line.  In  short,  the  adoption  of 
this  proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitution  would 
have  satisfied  the  chief  demand  which  led  them  to 
give  their  adherence  to  the  Republican  party. 

The  national  convention  of  workingmen  in  Phil- 
adelphia was  called  to  order  by  William  H.  Sylvis. 
This  convention  did  not  apparently  result  in  any 
definite  demonstration  against  or  for  the  Union.  A 
committee  was  appointed  whose  chief  purpose  was 
to  encourage  organization  and  to  get  men  elected 

"  Moore,  Putnam's  Record  of  the  Rebellion,  vol.  i,  p.  10. 
"History  of  Typographical  Union  No.  6,  p.  604. 


OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS      153 

who  were  not  and  would  not  become  "tools  of  cor- 
porations." Powderly  indicates  that  the  germ  of 
national  organization  of  all  workers  is  to  be  found 
in  the  work  of  this  committee.^ '^ 

The  interpretation  of  the  attitude  of  the  work- 
ingmen  in  1861  given  by  Mr.  Powderly,  who  was 
the  leader  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  when  that  organi- 
zation reached  its  high  tide,  is  worthy  of  extended 
notice.  "The  Civil  War,  whose  mutterings  had 
been  reverberating  through  the  United  States,  came 
upon  the  mechanics  of  America  at  a  time  when 
they  were  putting  forth  every  effort  to  perfect  their 
separate  unions.  The  war,  when  it  broke  out,  found 
among  those  who  were  most  bitterly  opposed  to  it 
the  trades  unionists  of  the  North  and  the  South; 
they  saw  in  the  coming  struggle  a  menace  to  the 
welfare  of  the  country  which  they  would  turn  aside 
if  possible.  The  bonds  of  fraternity  between  the 
mechanics  of  the  United  States  was  a  means  of  caus- 
ing some  of  the  leading  trades  unionists  to  call  a 
convention  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  the  disapy- 
proval  of  the  workingmen  of  the  attempts  to  foment 
sectional  strife  and  bitterness."  ^®  The  convention 
referred  to  was  the  one  held  in  Philadelphia. 

Some  of  the  leaders  of  the  workingmen  doubt- 
less opposed  war  because  they  felt  that  the  chief  bur- 
dens of  any  war  fall  upon  the  shoulders  of  the 
wage-earning  population.     "Among  the  working- 

"  Powderly,  Thirty  Years  of  Labor,  pp.  46  and  53. 
"Powderly,  Thirty  Years  of  Labor,  pp.  44,  45. 


154  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

men,  a  few  choice  spirits,  North  and  South,  know- 
ing that  all  the  burdens  and  none  of  the  honors  of 
war  are  entailed  upon  labor,  were  engaged  in  an  ef- 
fort to  frustrate  the  plans  of  those  who  seemed  to 
desire,  and  whose  fanaticism  was  calculated  to  pre- 
cipitate, hostilities."  ^^  The  persons  referred  to  in 
the  latter  portion  of  this  quotation  are  doubtless  the 
"scheming  politicians"  of  the  resolution  adopted  at 
Evansville,  Indiana. 

It  must  not  be  overlooked,  in  any  discussion  of 
the  attitude  of  the  wage  earners  toward  the  preser- 
vation of  the  Union,  that  before  Fort  Sumter  was 
fired  upon,  many  Northern  men  of  all  walks  of  life 
opposed  coercion  of  the  seceding  States.  On  March 
15,  1 86 1,  five  of  the  seven  cabinet  officers  opposed 
the  relief  of  Fort  Sumter.  Horace  Greeley's  state- 
ment is  quite  familiar.  "We  hope  never  to  live  in 
a  republic,  whereof  one  section  is  pinned  to  another 
by  bayonets."  And  as  late  as  April  9,  1861,  Wen- 
dell Phillips  asserted  that  "Abraham  Lincoln  has  no 
right  to  a  soldier  in  Fort  Sumter."  But  in  1862, 
he  wrote:  "From  1843  to  1861,  I  was  a  disunionist. 
.  .  .  Sumter  changed  the  whole  question.  After 
that  peace  and  justice  both  forbade  disunion."  And 
the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter  affected  the  workers  of 
the  North  as  it  did  Wendell  Phillips  and  the  great 
mass  of  Northern  people.     Lowell  wrote  of  "that 

"Sylvis,  Biography  of  W.  H.  Sylvis,  p.  42;  quoted  in 
Simons,  Social  Forces  in  American  History,  p.  283. 


OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS      155 

first  gun  at  Sumter  which  brought  the  free  States 
to  their  feet  as  one  man." 

The  largest  and  most  aggressive  disloyal  organ- 
ization during  the  Civil  War  was  a  secret  order 
called  the  "Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle."  In  the 
platform  of  this  organization  adopted  in  1859  is 
contained  no  indication  that  the  workingmen  of 
the  North  were  especially  interested  in  the  move- 
ment. It  is  probable  that  some  wage  earners  were 
members.  Mr.  Vallandigham  of  Ohio  was  at  one 
time  a  leader  of  this  organization. 

The  draft  riots  of  1863  in  New  York  and  Penn- 
sylvania have  led  some  writers  to  infer  that  the 
workingmen  of  the  North  were  disloyal  to  the 
Union.  The  wealthy  were  practically  exempt  from 
the  provisions  of  the  draft;  and  it  was,  therefore, 
urged  that  the  draft  was  unjust  to  the  working- 
men.  The  employment  of  Negroes  virtually  as 
strikebreakers  had  stirred  up  much  bitterness.  It 
was  felt  that  wage  workers  were  being  forced  into 
military  service  in  behalf  of  these  new  "scabs,"  the 
Negroes. 

"The  'anti-draft  riots'  that  took  place  in  many 
cities,  and  especially  in  New  York,  partook  of  many 
of  the  characteristics  of  a  labor  movement.  They 
began  with  a  general  strike,  or  an  attempt  at  such 
a  strike.  The  spokesmen  of  the  movement  were 
insistent  in  their  denunciation  of  the  'exemption 
clauses'  that  enabled  rich  men  to  escape  the  draft. 
There  were  many  who  demanded  that  'money  as 


156  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

well  as  men  should  be  drafted.'  "  ^^  The  draft  and 
the  riots  followed  a  period  of  industrial  unrest, 
strikes  for  higher  wages  and  the  use  of  Negro  strike- 
breakers. The  provisions  of  the  draft  and  the  in- 
dustrial situation  afforded  combustible  material  for 
a  fierce  disturbance.  But  "industrial  discontent  was 
a  fundamental  cause  of  the  riots."  -^ 

The  Extension  of  the  Suffrage.  One  of  the  m.ost 
interesting  and  important  of  the  political  and  social 
phenomena  of  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury was  the  extension  of  the  right  to  cast  the  bal- 
lot. In  spite  of  the  high  sounding  phrases  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  the  common  man,  the 
man  without  property,  was  denied  the  ballot  until 
the  influence  of  the  frontier  and  of  the  workingmen 
became  sufficiently  strong  and  potent  to  break  down 
the  conservatism  of  the  coast  and  the  propertied  in- 
terests. In  1776,  "not  manhood  qualifications,  but 
tax  receipts,  church  creeds  and  white  skins  were  re- 
quired of  those  who  would  vote.  .  .  .  The  man 
without  land  could  not  be  trusted.  The  man  without 
piety  was  not  to  have  political  power."  ^-  The  ex- 
tension of  the  suffrage  gave  political  power  into  the 
hands  of  two  numerically  increasing  classes,  the 
frontier  settlers  and  the  workingmen  of  the  towns. 


"  Simons,  Social  Forces  in  American  History,  p.  283. 

"  Fite,  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  during  the  Civil 
War,  p.  190. 

"  Stevenson,  The  Growth  of  the  Nation,  180Q  to  iS^?, 
in  the  History  of  North  America,  vol.  12,  p.  13. 


OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS      157 

Four  influences  seem  to  have  been  chiefly  responsible 
for  the  new  enactments  with  regard  to  the  suffrage : 
The  belief  in  the  revolutionary  dogmas  of  natural 
rights  and  the  equality  of  men,  which  had  been 
strengthened  by  the  impulse  received  from  the 
French  Revolution;  the  intense  democratic  spirit 
fostered  by  the  frontier;  the  strength  of  the  newly 
formed  working  classes  living  in  the  rapidly  grow- 
ing towns  and  cities ;  and  the  competition  of  politi- 
cal parties  for  voters. 

The  movement  for  manhood  suffrage  first  ap- 
pears in  sections  where  the  frontier  element  is  in- 
fluential. The  states  which  entered  the  Union  in 
the  first  decades  of  our  national  history  came  in 
with  liberal  suffrage  provisions.  With  the  growth 
of  industrial  towns  and  cities,  and  with  the  forma- 
tion of  a  considerable  wage-earning  population,  a 
farther  impetus  was  given  to  the  movement  in  favor 
of  manhood  suffrage.  Property  qualifications  were 
not  abolished  in  New  Jersey  until  1844;  Connecticut 
took  this  step  a  year  later.  On  the  other  hand,  New- 
York  and  Massachusetts  abolished  this  requirement 
in  1 82 1.  The  movement  in  this  country  antedated 
that  of  England.  This  may  be  explained,  partially 
at  least,  by  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  Eng- 
land had  no  frontier  element,  and  did  have  a  very 
strongly  entrenched  landowning  class.  In  Rhode 
Island,  the  frontier  element  was  in  a  large  measure 
lacking;  the  struggle  of  the  forties  in  this  little 
state  was  carried  on  by  the  wage  earners  of  the 


158  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

cities.  This  class  triumphed  earlier  in  Rhode  Island 
than  in  England  because  the  landowning  class  was 
less  powerful  in  the  former. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  colonies  a  rehgious 
test  had  been  required.  "The  religious  test  became 
less  exacting  in  many  instances,  and  finally  broke 
down  altogether  on  account  of  the  great  diversity 
of  religious  beliefs  of  the  new  immigrants,  render- 
ing it  impossible  to  maintain  a  popular  government 
under  religious  test."  ^^  If  this  argument  of  Pro- 
fessor Blackmar  is  tenable,  it  ought  also  to  account 
for  the  removal  of  the  property  qualifications  in  the 
first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  During  that 
period  class  differentiation  increased,  and  the  op- 
position between  the  rural  and  urban  districts  be- 
gan to  be  clearly  discernible. 

The  early  agitation  for  woman's  rights  was  large- 
ly a  middle  class  affair.  In  1830,  Miss  Frances 
Wright,  the  first  "new  woman"  on  American  soil, 
started  the  first  "woman's  movement"  in  the  United 
States.  The  early  agitation  was  in  a  large  measure 
directed  toward  obtaining  for  married  women  the 
right  to  own  and  control  separate  property.  Until 
the  latter  part  of  the  decade  of  the  forties  only  one 
state,  Louisiana,  allowed  married  women  separate 
property  rights.  But  the  recent  movement  for  equal 
suffrage  is  actively  supported  by  the  socialist  party, 
the  Woman's  Trade  Union  League  and  many  trade 
unionists.    The  ballot  placed  in  the  hands  of  women 

*  Blackmar,  The  Chautauquan,  vol.  22. 


OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS      159 

will  tend  to  improve  the  conditions  surrounding  the 
wage-earning  woman;  and  it  may  also  be  expected 
to  lead  toward  better  municipal  housekeeping.  The 
first,  it  is  hoped,  will  aid  in  raising  the  v/age  level 
and  the  second  in  improving  living  conditions  par- 
ticularly in  the  sections  of  towns  and  cities  where 
the  wage  earners  live.  Both  considerations  appeal  to 
the  male  as  well  as  to  the  female  wage  earner. 

Communism  and  Cooperation.  In  the  United 
States,  these  two  movements  have  been  largely  mid- 
dle class  rather  than  working  class  movements.  The 
one  American  working  class  communist  worthy  of 
mention  is  Thomas  Skidmore.  He  established  no 
communities  but  he  presented  a  fairly  definite 
scheme  of  social  regeneration.  Skidmore  was  the 
leader  of  the  radical  or  agrarian  wing  of  the  divided 
Workingmen's  Party  of  New  York  City,  He  was 
a  machinist.  At  the  time  when  Robert  Dale  Owen 
and  many  other  reformers  were  vehemently  pro- 
claiming that  free  and  universal  education  was  an 
unfailing  cure  for  all  social  ills,  Thomas  Skidmore 
in  "The  Right  of  Man  to  Property"  (1829),  de- 
clared that  equal  division  of  property  was  the  first 
and  most  essential  step.  According  to  his  plan, 
children  from  birth  to  maturity  were  to  receive  a 
sufficient  amount  from  the  state  to  provide  "full 
and  decent  maintenance,  according  to  age  and  con- 
dition." The  famous  American  communistic  ex- 
periments such  as  New  Harmony,  Brook  Farm,  and 


i6o  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  Icarian  settlements,  attracted  but  little  attention 
from  the  American  wage  earner. 

In  this  country  the  most  successful  cooperative 
establishments  such  as  stores,  creameries,  and  grain 
elevators,  have  been  started  and  controlled  by  others 
than  wage  earners.  An  early  American  attempt 
at  producers'  cooperation  is  that  of  the  Society  of 
Journeymen  Cabinet  Makers  of  Philadelphia.  In 
1833,  after  labor  disturbances,  the  members  of  this 
labor  organization  opened  a  warehouse  for  the  sale 
of  cabinet  ware.  In  the  wareroom,  any  member 
could  place  for  sale  work  of  his  own.  This  insti- 
tution closed  its  doors  in  1834.  But  two  or  three 
years  later  there  are  evidences  of  an  attempt  on 
the  part  of  the  cabinet  makers  to  start  a  general 
cooperative  movement.^*  The  molders  of  Cincin- 
nati in  1848  and  some  tailors  of  Boston  in  1849 
organized  cooperative  establishments  which  contin- 
ued for  a  brief  period.  The  National  Labor  Union, 
in  1868,  favored  the  establishment  of  cooperative 
stores  and  workshops.  In  the  last  years  of  the  Civil 
War  and  soon  after  its  close  some  ephemeral  co- 
operative establishments  were  organized  by  unions. 
In  the  eighties  the  Knights  of  Labor  also  started 
a  number  of  cooperative  stores  and  a  few  coopera- 
tive manufacturing  establishments.  In  19 16,  re- 
ports indicate  a  promising  cooperative-store  move- 
ment among  the  coal  miners  of  Illinois.    The  most 

"Deibler,  The  Amalgamated  Wood  Workers'  Interna- 
tional Union,  pp.  42,  43. 


OTHER  REFORAI  MOVEMENTS      i6i 

famous  and  successful  of  the  American  attempts  at 
producers'  cooperation  is  that  of  the  coopers  of 
Minneapolis.  Gangs  of  longshoremen  have  also 
utilized  producers'  cooperation  in  a  simple  and  very 
interesting  manner.^^  The  union  divides  the  w^ork 
among  the  different  gangs;  and  each  gang  chooses 
its  own  leader  or  foreman.  The  latter  collects  the 
wages  for  the  entire  group  and  divides  the  amount 
equally  among  the  members  of  the  gang. 

The  Tariff.  The  first  national  issue  upon  which 
the  wage  earners  of  the  country  were  appealed  to 
by  the  politicians  was  that  connected  with  a  pro- 
tective tariff.  After  the  suffrage  was  extended  so 
that  wage  earners  became  voters,  the  arguments  in 
favor  of,  and  adverse  to,  a  protective  tariff  were  so 
phrased  as  to  appeal  to  the  enfranchised  working- 
men.  Before  the  wage  earner  gained  the  suffrage, 
protection  was  urged  because  of  high  wages  paid 
to  the  American  laborer;  but  after  the  wage  earner 
became  a  voter  the  argument  was  quietly,  quickly 
and  adroitly  modified.  Protection  to  American  in- 
dustries was  then  demanded  as  a  measure  tending 
to  keep  wages  high  and  thus  to  shelter  the  Amer- 
ican worker  from  the  competition  of  the  cheap 
European  laborer.  This  is  the  so-called  "pauper 
labor"  argument.  Until  after  1825,  Congress  ex- 
hibited little  sympathy  for  the  wage  earner,  but 
from  that  period  down  to  the  "full  dinner-pail"  ar- 

*"  See  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Lo- 
hor,  pp.  221-222. 


1 62  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

gument  of  recent  fame,  tariff  discussions  have  usu- 
ally been  carried  on  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make 
a  potent  and  tangible  appeal  to  the  toiler. 

In  1 83 1,  the  "New  York  Convention  of  Friends  of 
Domestic  Industry"  urged  that  "our  system  tends 
directly  to  increase  the  effective  power  and  remu- 
neration of  labor,  thus  multiplying  the  means,  the 
comforts  and  enjoyments,  of  the  laboring  classes 
and  raising  them  in  the  scale  of  civilization  and  so- 
cial Hfe."  Webster  in  183 1  and  again  in  1833  fa- 
vored a  protective  tariff  because  it  offered  advan- 
tages to  American  manual  labor.  Gallatin's  Memo- 
rial in  1 83 1  also  touched  on  the  benefit  of  the  tariff 
to  the  wage  earner.  "The  really  important  argument 
which  protectionists  had  developed  and  exploited 
during  the  controversies  of  1828,  1832- 1833  ^^^ 
1837  was  the  increased  emplo3'ment  at  remunerative 
wages  which  protection  would  afford.  Undeniably 
many  Eastern  men  desired  to  use  protection  as  a 
means  of  preventing  emigration  and  Western  men 
hoped  to  build  up  manufactures  to  strengthen  their 
home  market,  but  the  general  principle  as  stated 
above  remains  true.  .  .  .  Although  free  traders 
were  charged  in  1832  with  holding  that  the  natural 
price  of  wages  was  the  mere  subsistence  of  the  la- 
borer, many  of  them  had  begun  to  believe  in  the 
importance  and  dignity  of  labor.  It  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  chief  free  trade  leaders  were 
Southern  men,  accustomed  to  the  atmosphere  of 
slavery.     Occasionally    invidious   comparisons   be- 


OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS      163 

tween  free  and  slave  labor  were  made.  Protection- 
ists, on  the  other  hand,  were  forced  to  recognize 
the  upward  pressure  of  the  masses."  ^* 

In  the  famous  campaign  of  1840,  the  Whigs  ap- 
pealed to  the  labor  vote.  Horace  Greeley  edited  the 
Log  Cabin  during  this  campaign  and  frequently  ad- 
vocated a  protective  tariff.  "The  Whig  idea  was 
protection  for  the  sake  of  capital.  Greeley's  idea 
was  protection  for  the  sake  of  labor.  The  Whigs 
did  not  approve  of  Greeley,  but  his  theory  was  use- 
ful in  1840,  and  in  that  year  they  hired  him  to  get 
out  campaign  literature."  ^^  Whig  banners  bearing 
the  "words,  "No  reduction  of  wages,"  w^ere  utilized 
in  this  campaign.  Four  years  later,  the  Whig  party 
favored  "a  tariff  for  revenue,  to  defray  the  neces- 
sary expenses  of  the  Government,  and  which  dis- 
criminated with  special  reference  to  the  protection 
of  the  domestic  labor  of  the  country."  ^® 

Dr.  Mangold  declares  that  by  1842  "many  of  its 
[the  West's]  leaders  had  joined  the  South  against 
the  protective  policy  which  restricted  migration  to 
the  new  lands  and  in  part  sustained  the  efforts  of 
the  East  to  retain  its  growth."  As  long  as  much 
cheap  western  land  remained,  high  wages  were  nec- 
essary to  keep  workers  in  industry, — otherwise  they 

"Mangold,  The  Labor  Argument  in  American  Protec- 
tive Tariff  Discussion,  pp.  72,  74.    See  also  p.  71. 

''Commons,  "Horace  Greeley  and  the  Working  Class 
Origin  of  the  Republican  Party,"  Political  Science  Quar- 
terly, vol.  24.  p.  487. 

"New  York  Tribune,  May  1 1,  1844. 


1 64  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

would  go  West  and  become  pioneer  farmers.  The 
high  wages  argument  for  a  protective  tariff  at- 
tracted the  votes  of  the  workingmen,  tended  to  keep 
a  supply  of  workers  in  the  East  and  kept  up  prices. 
"Protection  had  been  the  stimulus  the  East  de- 
manded to  accelerate  her  growth  and  retain  her 
working  population.  Free  land  was  [Secretary] 
Walker's  remedy  for  diminishing  wages  but  it  im- 
plied the  migration  of  the  laborer  to  the  West.^' 
And  this  migration  the  East  disliked  until  immigra- 
tion from  Europe  provided  a  sufficient  labor  supply. 
Since  the  Civil  War,  the  high  rates  of  what  was 
originally  intended  to  be  a  temporary  war  tariff 
have  been  in  a  large  measure  retained.  The  con- 
stant reiteration  of  the  pauper  labor  argument  has 
apparently  ser\'ed  its  purpose  exceedingly  well. 

Abolition  of  Imprisonment  for  Debt.  Like  most 
of  our  legal  usages,  political  institutions  and  social 
customs,  imprisonment  for  debt  was  English  in  its 
derivation.  It  was  carried,  as  were  the  English 
common  law  and  English  political  institutions, 
across  the  Atlantic  by  the  colonial  settlers,  and  firm- 
ly rooted  in  American  soil.  The  general  prevalence 
of  this  barbarous  treatment  of  the  unfortunate  clear- 
ly indicates  that  it  was  not  at  that  time  deemed 
subversive  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  a  re- 
publican form  of  government.  This  is,  perhaps, 
as   additional   proof   of   the  essentially  nondemo- 

**  Mangold,  The  Labor  Argument  in  American  Protec- 
tive Tariff  Discussion,  p.  102.    Also,  p.  105. 


OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS      165 

cratic  basis  of  our  government.  The  continuance  of 
this  practice  after  1789  also  furnishes  evidence  of 
the  poHtical  predominance  of  the  commercial  in- 
terests of  the  nation.  Originated  in  England  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  HI  in  order  to  benefit  the  nobility, 
extended  under  Edward  I  to  the  merchants,  unless 
of  Jewish  extraction,  after  this  class  became  im- 
portant and  powerful  in  England,  this  engine  of 
class  favoritism,  built  to  strengthen  the  hands  of 
the  feudal  lords,  was  utilized  in  a  land  nominally 
without  classes  and  in  an  age  after  feudalism  had 
been  long  extinct  among  English-speaking  peoples. 

The  abolition  of  imprisonment  for  debt  in  the 
various  states  of  the  United  States  was  another  of 
the  many  humanitarian  measures  which  were  the 
fruits  of  the  first  two  or  three  decades  immediately 
following  1820.  Before  this  step  was  taken  it  was 
necessary  that  the  ballot  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  numerically  increasing  laboring  class,  and  in  the 
hands  of  the  men  of  the  frontier. 

In  1829,  it  was  estimated  that  no  less  than  seven- 
ty-five thousand  persons  were  annually  imprisoned 
for  debt  in  this  land  of  the  free;  and  at  that  date 
the  practice  had  been  abolished  in  at  least  two 
states, — the  western  states  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky. 
In  1830,  the  estimated  number  of  individuals  im- 
prisoned for  debt  was  in  Massachusetts,  3.000;  in 
New  York,  10,000;  in  Pennsylvania,  7,000;  in 
Maryland,  3,000;  or  a  total  of  23,000  in  the  four 
states.    Individuals  were  imprisoned  for  very  small 


i66  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

as  well  as  for  large  debts ;  for  debts  when  the  debtor 
was  absolutely  unable  to  pay  as  well  as  for  debts 
in  regard  to  which  an  attempt  was  made  to  defraud 
the  creditor.  "In  one  city,  forty  cases  were  recorded 
in  which  the  sum  total  of  the  debts  was  only  twenty- 
three  dollars,  forty  and  one-fourth  cents, — an  aver- 
age of  less  than  sixty  cents  each."  One  of  these 
cases  was  that  of  a  man  who  was  imprisoned  thirty 
days  because  he  owed  two  cents. 

In  some  states,  the  debtor  was  not  only  denied  the 
right  to  an  opportunity  to  earn  wages  in  order  to 
pay  his  debts;  but  he  was  obliged,  if  he  was  an 
honest  debtor,  to  depend  upon  charity  for  the  neces- 
sities of  life, — food,  clothing,  and  fuel.  Local  hu- 
mane societies  often  kept  debtors  from  freezing  or 
starving.  A  criminal  was  given  even  greater  con- 
sideration in  regard  to  food  and  fuel  than  was  ac- 
corded the  imprisoned  debtor.  The  practice  of  im- 
prisoning debtors  fell,  of  course,  with  peculiar  se- 
verity upon  those  who  were  close  to  the  poverty 
line,  that  is,  upon  the  wage-earning  classes. 

Four  classes  of  people  were  particularly  inter- 
ested in  the  question  of  the  abolition  of  imprison- 
ment for  debt:  The  wage  earners;  tradesmen  and 
money  lenders ;  the  class  of  lawyers  who  received 
fees  from  cases  involving  the  imprisonment  of  debt- 
ors; and  the  humanitarians.  The  practice  was  re- 
garded as  a  relic  of  barbarism.  It  was  urged  that 
to  imprison  debtors  was  contrary  to  the  accepted 
theories  regarding  natural  rights  and  the  equality 


OTHER  REFORM  MOVEMENTS      167 

of  men.  This  was  the  sentimental  or  humanitarian 
argument.  The  second  kind  of  argument  was  eco- 
nomic. Imprisonment  for  debt  increased  pauperism 
and  was  not  efficient  as  a  means  of  collecting  debts. 
The  wage-earning  classes  were  in  favor  of  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  practice  because  some  of  them  were  desir- 
ous of  escaping  from  the  payment  of  debts,  because 
they  feared  its  effect  in  the  time  of  unemployment 
or  of  ill-health,  or  because  they  were  afraid  of  ar- 
bitrary action  on  the  part  of  creditors.  Nearly 
all  of  the  resolutions  adopted  at  the  numerous  mass 
meetings  of  workingmen  held  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  decade  of  the  twenties  and  the  first  half  of  the 
thirties  contain  clauses  demanding  the  abolition  of 
imprisonment  for  debt.  The  labor  journals  of  that 
period  were  also  uniformly  opposed  to  the  practice. 
The  ephemeral  labor  parties  made  the  abolition  of 
imprisonment  for  debt  a  plank  in  their  platforms. 
Tammany,  the  Democratic  party  organization  of 
New  York  City,  became  interested  in  this  reform 
when  it  saw  the  necessity  of  getting  the  labor  vote. 
In  183 1,  an  act  was  passed  in  New  York  abolishing 
imprisonment  for  debt  except  in  cases  of  fraud. 
The  workingmen  carried  on  an  active  agitation  in 
regard  to  this  matter  in  several  Northern  states. 

The  humanitarian  leaders  took  an  active  part  in 
the  agitation  in  favor  of  this  reform.  The  trades- 
men and  money  lenders  usually  aligned  themselves 
in  opposition  although  they  were  touched  by  the 
argument    that    imprisonment    was    an    inefficient 


i68  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

means  of  collecting  bad  debts.  The  most  stalwart 
and  uncompromising  friends  of  imprisonment  for 
debt  were  the  petty  lawyers  whose  pockets  were  be- 
ing lined  with  fees.  The  dislike  of  lawyers  mani- 
fested by  the  workingmen  of  the  period  was  no 
doubt  in  a  measure  due  to  the  prevalence  of  evils 
connected  with  the  practice  now  under  considera- 
tion. By  1840,  imprisonment  for  debt  had  been 
abolished  in  practically  every  Northern  state.  This 
reform  was  accomplished  by  means  of  the  steady, 
effective  pressure  of  the  newly  enfranchised  and 
rapidly  growing  laboring  class,  aided  and  led  by  the 
humanitarian  element.  The  active  reactionary 
forces  consisted  chiefly  of  wealthy  creditors,  trades- 
men, and  petty  lawyers.  Other  classes  seem,  as  a 
rule,  to  have  assumed  a  position  of  neutrality. ^"^ 
"  Carlton,  Yale  Review,  1908,  vol.  17,  pp.  339-344. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

LABOR  PARTIES,  SOCIALISM,  DIRECT  ACTION, 
AND  THE  PROGRESSIVE  MOVEMENT 

Separate  labor  parties  could  not,  of  course,  make 
their  appearance  before  the  suffrage  had  been  ex- 
tended until  practically  all  adult  men  could  vote.  In 
the  first  flush  of  their  newly  acquired  political  pow- 
er, it  was  to  be  expected  that  the  workers  in  the 
cities  would  turn  to  a  new  class  party  in  order  to 
remove  the  cause  of  their  many  grievances.  The 
first  labor  or  workingmen's  party  appeared  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  in  1827.  It  was  closely  fol- 
lowed by  one  in  New  York  City  and  another  in 
Massachusetts.  The  pioneer  labor  party  of  Phila- 
delphia held  the  balance  of  power  in  two  elections 
and  some  of  its  candidates  were  endorsed  by  the  old- 
er parties.  "Even  the  Congressional  candidates  of 
the  older  parties  flung  out  their  banners  as  the  'true 
working  men's  party,'  and  appropriated  the  slogan 
of  *6  to  6,'  which  the  workingmen  had  used  to  indi- 
cate their  demand  for  the  ten  hour  day."  The  party 
disappeared  within  three  years.^ 

*  Commons,  "Labor  Organizations  and  Labor  Politics," 
Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  1907,  vol.  21,  p.  326. 

169 


lyo  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

New  York  City  affords  the  best  ground  for  the 
study  of  the  pohtical  activity  of  the  workingmen 
of  1829  and  1830.  There  the  political  situation  was 
more  complex  than  elsewhere,  and  in  that  city  lead- 
ers were  readily  found.  The  new  and  somewhat 
unique  party  passed  rapidly  through  various  phases 
corresponding  quite  closely  to  the  type  of  men  who 
temporarily  dominated  it  and  directed  its  policy. 
These  phases  may  be  <:ermed  agrarianism,  humani- 
tarianism  or  educational  communism,  and  fusion 
with  various  pohtical  factions.^  At  first,  Thomas 
Skidmore,  the  agrarian,  was  in  control;  but  the 
leadership  of  Skidmore  was  of  short  duration.  In 
his  place  appeared  a  new  set  of  leaders.  These 
were  Miss  Frances  Wright,  the  famous  woman  agi- 
tator: Robert  Dale  Owen  and  George  H.  Evans, 
the  editor  of  the  newly  established  labor  paper,  The 
Working  Man's  Advocate.  Education,  rather  than 
equal  distribution  of  property,  became  the  slogan 
of  the  party. 

After  the  election  of  1829,  it  became  plainly  ap- 
parent to  the  leaders  of  the  old  parties  that  here 
was  a  new  political  power  which  must  be  conciliated 
and  absorbed,  or  split  up  and  diverted  into  various 
channels.  The  methods  employed  were  three  in 
number  :  ( i )  Dissensions  were  fomented  within  the 
new  party;  (2)  skilled  politicians  affiliated  with  it; 

'  For  a  more  detailed  study  see  Carlton,  "The  Working- 
men's  Party  of  New  York  City,  1829-1831,"  Political  Sci- 
ence Quarterly,  1907,  vol.  22,  pp.  401-415. 


LABOR  PARTIES  171 

and  (3)  the  old  parties  indorsed  certain  policies  and 
candidates  of  the  workingmen. 

No  pleasant  theory  in  regard  to  the  good  old  times 
should  be  allowed  to  obscure  the  facts.  Indeed,  at 
this  period  in  our  history,  politics  was  already  an 
art.  Its  methods  were  cruder  and  more  direct  than 
those  employed  by  politicians  of  a  more  recent  date. 
Violence  was  more  common  and  bribery  more  open. 
The  hobnail  rather  than  the  gumshoe  was  used.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  rank  and  file  of  the  voters  were 
less  experienced ;  and,  consequently,  they  were  more 
easily  gulled  by  specious  promises  and  plausible 
programs.  Martin  Van  Buren,  who  nationalized 
"the  Machine,"  was  "learning  the  ropes,"  and  Tam- 
many Hall  was  an  organized  power  in  New  York 
politics.  In  1830,  a  New  York  newspaper  cynically 
declared :  "The  Tammany  grinding  machine  has 
turned  out  the  following  names,  which  all  who  hold 
offices,  or  ever  expect  to  get  any,  are  ordered  to 
vote  as  the  Assembly  ticket." 

The  first  step  toward  the  formation  of  a  work- 
ingmen's  party  in  New  York  City  was  taken  at  a 
meeting  of  "mechanics  and  others"  held  in  that  city 
on  the  evening  of  April  23,  1829.  At  that  time 
in  New  York  City  many  artisans  were  working  only 
ten  hours  per  day;  but  the  employers  of  the  city 
wished  to  lengthen  the  working  day.  At  this  meet- 
ing of  workingmen  and  others  resolutions  were 
adopted  demanding  the  retention  of  the  ten  hour 
day.     The  party  organization   was  not,  however, 


172  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

perfected  until  about  six  months  later.  By  that  time 
evidently  the  ten  hour  question  had  been  satisfac- 
torily settled.  At  a  meeting  held  on  October  19, 
1829,  resolutions  were  adopted  condemning  the  pri- 
vate ownership  of  land,  the  hereditary  transmission 
of  wealth,  banking  privileges,  chartered  monopo- 
lies, auction  sales  and  the  exemption  of  church  prop- 
erty from  taxation,  and  favoring  a  mechanics'  lien, 
law  and  the  abolition  of  imprisonment  for  debt.  A 
preliminary  report  laid  stress  upon  the  desirability 
of  a  scheme  of  communal  education,  Skidmore  was 
the  chairman  of  this  meeting;  and  the  resolutions 
against  private  ownership  of  land  and  against  in- 
heritance of  property  were  doubtless  inserted  at  his 
behest. 

In  the  fall  election  of  1829  the  new  party  nomi- 
nated a  full  list  of  candidates  for  the  Assembly. 
Its  nominees  were  bona  fide  workingmen :  two  ma- 
chinists, two  carpenters,  a  brass  founder,  a  white- 
smith, a  cooper,  a  painter,  a  grocer  and  a  physician. 
One  of  the  candidates,  Ebenezer  Ford,  was  elected. 
Two  others,  both  radical  agrarians,  received  nearly 
as  many  votes  each  as  Ford.  The  party  also  named 
candidates  for  the  State  Senate,  but  these  were  de- 
feated. 

The  first  split  in  the  party  was  on  the  subject  of 
agrarianism.  Skidmore's  extreme  views  as  to  the 
equalization  of  property  could  not  long  be  coun- 
tenanced. Only  a  handful  adhered  to  the  policies 
of  Skidmore;  these  formed  the  agrarian  wing  of  the 


LABOR  PARTIES  173 

party.  Humanitarian  enthusiasm  was  now  domi- 
nant; and  equal  republican  education  was  now  held 
up  as  the  panacea  for  all  the  social  and  economic 
ills  which  then  afflicted  the  American  people.  For 
a  brief  period  this  became  the  most  important  plank 
in  the  party's  platform. 

The  new  leaders  of  the  Workingmen's  party  de- 
voted themselves  chiefly  to  the  propaganda  of  equal, 
republican  education.  All  children  were  to  be  fed, 
clothed  and  lodged  at  public  expense;  all  were  to 
dress  alike  and  eat  at  a  common  table.  Give  such 
a  training,  said  Robert  Dale  Owen,  to  a  boy  until 
he  is  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  division  of  prop- 
erty is  not  important.  It  was  an  idealistic  and  Pla- 
tonic scheme;  but  enthusiasm  and  idealistic  dreams 
cannot  long  support  and  maintain  a  political  party. 
Something  more  substantial  and  immediate  is  neces- 
sary. The  unexpected  strength  of  the  workingmen's 
movement,  as  disclosed  by  the  November  elections, 
aroused  the  Tammany  leaders.  Tammany  saw  the 
value  of  such  a  slogan  as  "the  workingmen's 
friend" ;  and  many  designing  politicians  saw  a  gold- 
en opportunity  to  manipulate  the  workingmen's 
party  for  their  own  private  and  selfish  ends.  A 
newspaper  friendly  to  the  wage  earners  warned 
them :  "Trust  not  too  implicitly  to  sudden  friend- 
ships. Beware  of  moneyed  and  professional  influ- 
ence." 

Education  was  the  issue  on  which  a  second  divi- 
sion appeared  within  the  party.    A  conservative  fac- 


174  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

tion  pictured  the  communal  or  boarding"  school 
method  of  education  as  inimical  to  the  American 
home.  In  the  fall  of  1830,  three  workingmen's 
tickets  were  put  in  the  field  The  Owen,  the  Skid- 
more  and  the  conservative  faction,  each  placed  a 
state  ticket  in  the  field ;  consequently,  the  Democrats 
won  a  complete  victory  in  the  city  and  in  the  State. 
This  election  marks  the  end  of  the  Workingmen's 
party.  There  are  traces  of  its  existence  in  1831; 
but  after  that  year  even  its  fragments  drop  out  of 
sight.  About  five  years  later  some  of  these  frag- 
ments reappear  in  the  Loco-Foco  or  Equal  Rights 
party ;  but  this  party  was  less  radical  than  the  Work- 
ingmen's party. 

In  the  development  of  the  Workingmen's  party 
we  can  clearly  discern  the  potent  influence  of  the 
narrow,  enthusiastic  or  fanatical  leader.  Utilizing 
the  discontent  of  his  followers,  he  leads  them  into 
new  and  unanticipated  paths.  The  workingmen 
were  controlled,  as  the  mass  of  a  party  is  always 
controlled,  not  by  reflection  and  logical  reasoning, 
but  by  emotion.  They  believed  that  they  were 
wronged  and  oppressed.  Skidmore  and  Owen  each 
presented  a  perfectly  simple  and  tangible  program, 
and  for  a  time  each  carried  the  party  with  him.  The 
new  and  radical  party  met  vigorous  opposition.  The 
bitterness  of  the  attack  may  be  pictured  when  it  is 
recalled  that  the  members  were  denounced  as  agra- 
rians, infidels,  atheists,  "the  dregs  of  the  earth,  the 
very  slime  and  scum  of  society." 


LABOR  PARTIES  175 

Several  important  concrete  results  came  from  the 
activity  of  this  ephemeral  and  class  conscious  politi- 
cal organization.  The  passage  of  a  mechanics'  lien 
law  and  the  abolition  of  imprisonment  for  debt  were 
hastened.  More  money  was  appropriated  in  New 
York  City  for  educational  purposes.  The  spectacu- 
lar trade  union  movement  of  the  thirties,  noting 
the  downfall  of  the  party,  avoided  the  pitfalls  of 
political  activity.  In  fact,  the  tradition  that  labor 
organizations,  if  they  would  avoid  early  and  rapid 
disintegration,  must  stand  aloof  from  all  political 
movements — a  tradition  which  in  recent  years  has 
lost  much  of  its  authority — seems  to  have  origi- 
nated, so  far  as  this  country  is  concerned,  in  the 
failure  of  the  labor  parties  of  1827-183 1. 

The  Workingmen's  party  seems  to  have  made  its 
first  appearance  in  Massachusetts  in  1830.  In  1833, 
in  Lowell,  a  full  ticket  was  put  in  the  field.  The 
party,  however,  never  attained  much  strength  in 
Massachusetts.  "Where  mention  of  the  party  is 
found  it  is  almost  invariably  coupled  with  discus- 
sions of  the  hours  of  lalx)r  and  the  education  of  the 
working  classes."  ^  Outside  of  New  York  City  and 
Philadelphia,  the  Workingmen's  party  was  probably 
not  purely  a  party  of  wage  earners.  In  Boston,  its 
appeal  was  made  to  "laboring  men,  mechanics, 
tradesmen,  farmers,  and  others  standing  upon  the 
same  level."  This  party  appeared  later  in  Boston 
than  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  City,  but  it  con- 

*  Persons,  Labor  Laws  and  Their  Enforcement,  p.  11. 


176  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

tinued  in  existence  after  the  other  city  organizations 
had  vanished. 

After  the  disappearance  of  these  ephemeral  and 
local  parties,  no  labor  party  worthy  of  the  name 
arose  until  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  How- 
ever, Horace  Greeley  in  1845  called  attention  to  a 
"new  party  styled  'National  Reformers'  "  which  was 
"composed  of  like  materials  and  in  good  part  of  the 
same  men  with  the  old  'Working  Men's  Party.'  "  * 

When  the  Civil  War  ended  labor  organizations 
of  the  trade  union  type  were  multiplying  and  wax- 
ing stronger.  The  return  of  the  soldiers  to  peace- 
ful pursuits,  the  continued  influx  of  immigrants 
from  the  old  world,  and  the  growing  power  of  in- 
dustrial combinations,  all  contributed  to  arouse  the 
wage  earners  of  the  nation  to  activity.  The  years 
1866  and  1867  probably  represent  the  period  of 
maximum  activity  during  the  era  immediately  fol- 
lowing the  surrender  at  Appomattox.  In  1864, 
an  unsuccessful  attempt  had  been  made  to  organize 
a  national  federation  of  trade  unions.  Two  years 
later  the  National  Labor  Union  was  organized  at 
a  National  Labor  Congress  held  in  Baltimore.  This 
was  the  first  successful  national  federation  of  trade 
unions  formed  since  the  National  Trades  Union  dis- 
appeared in  1837.  From  its  inception,  political  ac- 
tivity seems  to  have  been  an  important  part  of  the 
work  of  the  National  Labor  Union.     In  fact,  the 

*New  York  Tribune,  October  17,  1845.  See  Documen- 
iary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society,  vol.  8,  p.  41. 


LABOR  PARTIES  177. 

chief  aim  and  purpose  of  the  organization  was  po- 
litical rather  than  purely  industrial. 

The  first  Congress  or  annual  convention  of  the 
National  Labor  Union  in  1866  recommended  that 
steps  be  taken  to  form  a  national  labor  party  "which 
shall  be  put  in  operation  as  soon  as  possible."  A 
year  later  it  was  resolved  that  the  time  had  arrived 
when  "the  industrial  classes  should  cut  themselves 
aloof  from  party  ties  and  predilections  and  organize 
themselves  into  a  National  Labor  Party."  And 
again  in  1868  a  resolution  was  adopted  which  stated 
that  "the  very  existence  of  the  National  Labor 
Union  depends  upon  the  immediate  organization  of 
an  independent  labor  party."  No  definite  steps 
seem  to  have  been  taken  to  carry  these  resolutions 
into  effect  until  1871.  As  early  as  1866,  Cameron, 
the  editor  of  The  Workingman's  Advocate,  perhaps 
the  leading  labor  paper  of  the  period  and  the  of- 
ficial organ  of  the  National  Labor  Union,  was  nomi- 
nated as  a  candidate  for  a  seat  in  the  lower  house 
of  the  Illinois  legislature  by  the  workingmen  of 
Chicago.  The  editor  of  the  National  Workman, 
the  official  paper  of  the  federated  trades  of  New 
York  City,  wrote  at  the  opening  of  the  following 
year :  "The  New  Year  opens  with  flattering  auspices 
to  the  cause  of  Labor  Reform.  Many  Governors 
of  States  and  members  of  State  Legislatures  have 
been  elected  upon  Workingmen's  tickets,  as  friends 
of  the  eight  hour  system."  In  1867,  at  least  three 
states,  New  York,  Connecticut  and  Michigan,  held' 


178  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

workingmen's  conventions;  and  a  National  Labor 
Reform  party  was  organized.  In  a  platform 
adopted  August  22,  1867,  it  opposed  land  monopoly, 
the  national  banking  system  and  the  "money  mo- 
nopoly" which  was  held  to  be  "the  parent  of  all 
monopolies."  The  issuance  of  treasury  notes  was 
favored  as  a  preventative  of  growing  inequality  in 
the  distribution  of  wealth ;  and  workers  were  urged 
to  take  up  public  lands  and  become  actual  settlers. 
This  party  undoubtedly  died  soon  after  its  birth 
because  William  H.  Sylvis,  upon  being  elected  pres- 
ident of  the  National  Labor  Union  in  1868,  urged 
the  organization  of  a  Workingman's  pvarty  and  the 
Congress  held  by  the  union  voted  to  organize  a 
"Labor  Reform  Party." 

By  the  time  of  the  third  Congress  of  the  National 
Labor  Union  in  1868,  that  organization  "had  com- 
menced to  exert  some  political  influence  and  poli- 
ticians were  beginning  to  court  its  power."  ^  Many 
workingmen  opposed  the  formation  of  a  separate 
labor  party  because  of  strong  partisan  prejudices. 
Other  unionists,  "who  had  been  toadied  and  petted 
by  politicians  because  of  their  power  with  the  work- 
ingmen, saw  that  power  waning";  and  they  op- 
posed a  separate  party.  On  the  other  hand,  in  1870, 
the  National  Labor  Union  issued  an  address  de- 
claring that  the  whole  country  was  under  "the  su- 
preme control  of  bankers,  moneyed  men  and  profes- 
sional politicians" ;  and  the  Union's  Congress  voted 

"  Sylvis,  Biography  of  William  H.  Sylvis,  p.  75. 


LABOR  PARTIES  179 

to  take  independent  political  action  throughout  the 
country.  The  workers  did  not,  however,  rally  to 
the  support  of  the  labor  candidates  who  were  nomi- 
nated. After  the  election,  the  editor  of  one  of  the 
labor  papers  declared  with  some  bitterness  that  the 
labor  refomi  candidates  who  were  "for  the  most 
part  representative  trade  unionists,"  had  been  over- 
whelmingly defeated  by  the  workers  themselves. 

The  authority  to  issue  a  call  for  a  national  politi- 
cal convention  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  com- 
mittee. This  call,  issued  early  in  1871,  is  worthy 
of  brief  notice.  It  confidently  asserted  that  capi- 
tal was  master  in  the  United  States;  and  capital 
had  obtained  its  favorable  and  dominating  position 
because  of  the  existence  of  monopolies — banking, 
money,  traction,  manufacturing,  land,  commercial 
and  grain.  The  outcry  against  land  monopoly  was 
now  directed  against  land  grants  to  railways.  The 
fear  of  a  banking  monopoly  was  old;  but  consoli- 
dated railways,  manufacturing,  commercial  and 
grain  monopolies  were  new  enemies.  The  call  fa- 
vored the  regulation  or  abolishment  of  corporate 
monopolies. 

A  labor  reform  party  was  organized  in  Massa- 
chusetts in  1869;  and  in  that  year  it  elected  twenty- 
one  representatives  to  the  State  Assembly  and  one 
State  Senator.  The  state  ticket  polled  13,000  votes. 
In  the  following  year,  Wendell  Phillips  was  nomi- 
nated for  governor.  The  party  advocated  the  sepa- 
ration of  industrial  from  political  questions.    Two 


i8o  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

new  and  significant  demands  are  found  in  the  plat- 
form: (i)  The  regulation  of  railway  rates;  (2) 
the  abolition  of  the  importation  of  laborers,  particu- 
larly from  China  under  contract.  In  1871,  the  reso- 
lutions presented  by  Phillips  and  adopted  by  the 
labor  reform  party  were  tinged  with  socialism.  It 
was  affirmed  that  labor  is  the  creator  of  all  wealth; 
the  abolition  of  special  privileges  was  demanded; 
and.it  was  asserted  that  the  capitalistic  system  was 
making  the  rich  richer  and  the  poor  poorer.^  An 
attempt  was  made  in  1872  to  put  a  national  ticket 
in  the  field.  In  1874,  Independent  Reform  candi- 
dates were  nominated  in  Illinois  and,  perhaps,  else- 
where. 

Undoubtedly  many  members  of  the  National  La- 
bor Union  who  were  committed  to  political  action 
and  opposed  to  the  so-called  "money  monopoly'* 
became  members  of  the  Greenback  party.  Other 
workers  who  were  more  radical  turned  to  the  so- 
cialist organization  known  at  first  as  the  Working- 
men's  Party  of  the  United  States.  In  short,  the 
small  but  aggressive  and  class  conscious  element 
within  the  National  Labor  Union  joined  the  latter 
party,  while  the  portion  standing  for  reform  af- 
filiated with  the  Greenback  party.  The  Greenback- 
ers  seem  to  have  been  much  more  closely  related  to 
anarchism  than  to  socialism.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
the  American  workingman  of  the  generation  imme- 

Carlton,    The   History   and  Problems    of   Organised 
Labor,  p.  61, 


LABOR  PARTIES  i8i 

diately  following  the  Civil  War  was  still  saturated 
with  the  philosophy  of  the  frontier  or  of  Jackson- 
ian  democracy.  He  as  yet  adhered  to  the  belief  that 
each  and  every  American  wage  earner  had  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  to  become  a  small  proprietor  or 
even  a  captain  of  industry.  As  long  as  this  re- 
mained true,  it  was  not  difficult  for  "pure  and  sim- 
ple" trade  unionism  generated  during  a  period  of 
stress  and  of  rising  prices  like  the  last  years  of  the 
Civil  War  to  be  gradually  transmuted  into  "labor 
reformism"  and  "greenbackism."  The  Knights  of 
Labor  was  primarily  a  reform  association;  and  the 
ultimate  aim  of  its  leaders  during  its  years  of  growth 
was  some  form  of  a  cooperative  commonwealth. 

In  the  eighties,  several  ephemeral  labor  reform 
parties  appear,  for  example,  the  Union  Labor  par- 
ty, United  Labor  party.  Progressive  Labor  party, 
American  Reform  party.  Homesteaders,  Anti- 
Monopolists.  The  Union  Labor  party  seems  to 
have  been  dominated  chiefly  by  former  Greenback- 
ers.  In  1888,  it  polled  nearly  150,000  votes.  The 
United  Labor  party  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  move- 
ment in  New  York  City  headed  by  Henry  George. 
These  parties  merged  into  the  Populist  party  two 
years  later.  None  of  these  parties,  however,  were 
purely  wage  earners'  organizations.  They  opposed 
land  monopoly  and  the  national  banking  system; 
and  they  favored  governmental  ownership  of  tele- 
graphs and  railways.  Although  these  so-called  labor 
parties  could   gain  only   a  small   following,   labor 


i82  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

organizations  were  growing.  Labor  was  sloughing 
off  its  reformism  and  returning  to  the  "pure  and 
simple"  type  of  trade  unionism.  By  the  close  of  the 
eighties,  it  was  evidently  becoming  more  and  more 
difficult  to  lead  the  wage  earners  into  the  camp  of 
the  reformers.  The  new  labor  leaders,  of  whom 
Samuel  Gompers  became  the  most  influential,  placed 
little  emphasis  upon  political  action,  cooperation  or 
middle  class  idealism. 

The  efforts  of  the  wage  earners  of  California 
to  form  separate  labor  parties  are  worthy  of  brief 
notice.  A  Workingmen's  party  was  organized  in 
1867,  and  almost  immediately  achieved  some  not- 
able successes.  But  it  was  short-lived.  A  historian 
of  California  labor  legislation  believes  that  "un- 
doubtedly this  show  of  political  strength  was  one 
of  the  chief  factors  contributing  to  the  passage  of 
the  eight  hour  law,  the  mechanics'  lien  law,  and  the 
act  for  the  protection  of  wages,  at  the  1868  session 
of  the  legislature."  Again  in  the  seventies,  the  po- 
litical activities  of  the  wage  earners  became  im- 
portant. Among  the  significant  demands  made  by 
the  Workingmen's  party  of  the  decade  of  the  seven- 
ties was  for  the  restriction  of  Chinese  immigration, 
land  reform,  an  eight  hour  day  and  the  abolition  of 
the  contract  labor  system  of  prison  labor.  The 
workingmen  elected  about  one  third  of  the  members 
of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1878,  and  ex- 
erted a  potent  influence  in  formulating  the  new 
State  Constitution.     The  party  soon  disappeared. 


LABOR  PARTIES  183^ 

Following  the  teamsters'  strike  in  San  Francisco  in 

1901,  a  Labor  Union  party  secured  control  of  the 

municipal  government  of  that  city.    For  four  years 

this  local  party  was  strong;  but  it  was  shattered  as      \J 

a  result  of  disclosures  of  graft  affecting  the  Mayor 

and  other  city  of^cials."^  v  ,_  ^/| 

All  the  American  labor  parties  formed  during  thei^l 
nineteenth  century  ^ere  ephemeral;  and  the  labor 
, organizations  which  went  into  politics  almost  uni- 
formly suffered  as  a  consequence.  Most  labor  or- 
ganizations cHng  to  an  opportunist  policy.  They 
aim  at  obtaining  immediate  and  individual  benefits 
in  the  form  of  higher  wages  and  better  working 
conditions.  Political  action  brings  in  slower  returns 
and  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  such  action  are 
more  widely  distributed.  Consequently,  the  en- 
trance of  labor  organizations  into  the  political  field 
signifies  that  the  old  business  policies  involving  wage 
bargaining,  strikes  and  boycotts  are  losing  their  po- 
tency.^ With  the  exception  of  the  Socialist  and 
Socialist  Labor  parties,  in  recent  years  no  separate 
labor  parties  have  been  organized.  The  American 
Federation  of  Labor,  founded  in  1881,  has  never 
emphasized  political  activity.  Within  the  last  eight 
or  ten  years,  however,  the  Federation  which  now  has 
a  membership  of  over  three  million,  has  ventured 

'Eaves,  History  of  California  Labor  Legislation,  pp. 
19.  27-39,  75-81. 

'  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized  Labor, 
p.  471- 


i84  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

into  the  forbidden  political  field  in  order  to  obtain 
legislation  demanded  by  the  wage  workers  of  the 
nation. 

The  method  as  worked  out  by  President  Samuel 
Gompers  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  is 
not  to  organize  a  separate  labor  party  but  to  swing 
the  vote  of  organized  labor  to  the  party  or  the  can- 
didate promising  to  support  the  legislative  meas- 
ures demanded  by  organized  labor.  The  leaders 
of  the  Federation  aim  to  take  advantage  of  every 
opportunity  which  promises  tangible  results  for 
the  mass  of  the  workers.  "Organized  labor  must 
see  to  it  that  trade  union  men  are  nominated  and 
elected  to  municipal,  county  and  state  offices;  that 
trade  union  men  represent  its  interests  in  the  State 
Legislatures  and  in  Congress. 

Let  organized  labor's  slogan  live  in  its  deeds — 

Stand  faithfully  by  our  friends, 

Oppose  and  defeat  our  enemies,  whether  they  be 

Candidates  for  President, 

For  Congress  or  other  offices,  whether 

Executive,  Legislative,  or  Judicial, 

Get  Busy.    Stand  True."  » 

The  advocates  of  this  conservative  policy  assert 
that  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  is  not  parti- 
san to  a  political  party  but  to  a  principle.  In  1908, 
Mr.  Gompers  as  President  of  the  Federation  favored 
the  Democratic  party;  in  1912,  that  party  or  the  Na- 

'  American  Federationist,  November,  1912. 


LABOR  PARTIES  185 

tional  Progressive  party.  In  his  report  to  tlie  an- 
nual convention  in  191 2,  President  Gompers  pre- 
sented some  interesting  statistics  as  to  labor  men  in 
the  United  States  Congress.  In  1906,  six  labor  men 
were  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives;  in 
1908,  these  were  reelected  and  four  more  union  card 
men  were  chosen.  In  1910,  fifteen  labor  men  were 
elected.  One  of  these,  W.  B.  Wilson,  became  the 
chairman  of  the  House  Committee  on  Labor;  and, 
in  19 1 3,  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  Labor  by 
President  Wilson. 

The  Report  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Convention 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  held  in  191 3 
contains  the  following  statement  regarding  union 
men  in  the  Sixty-third  Congress.  "Sixteen  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Representatives  are  union  men 
with  full  paid-up  union  cards.  Several  members 
carry  honorary  cards  in  trade  unions,  and  a  large 
number  of  Representatives  are  openly  sympathetic 
with  the  objects  and  aims  of  the  organizations  of 
labor.  The  Senate  apparently  contains  more  mem- 
bers sympathetic  to  Labor's  aims  than  was  formerly 
the  case;  one  Senator  carries  a  union  card  and  one 
other  possesses  an  honorary  membership  card." 
The  "labor  group"  in  the  Sixty-fourth  Congress 
numbered  eighteen  representatives  and  one  Senator. 
Nevertheless,  many  unionists  have  questioned  the 
efificacy  of  this  method,  and  are  asserting  that  little 
has  actually  been  accomplished  which  is  of  prime 
importance  to  the  wage  earners  of  the  coimtry. 


i86  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

Ely  Moore,  a  "printer  orator,"  was  the  first  trade 
union  man  to  enter  Congress.  He  was  elected  to 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  1834  from  New 
York  City.  Moore  was  a  Democrat  and  was  sup- 
ported by  Tammany  Hall.  He  was  reelected  in 
1836  and  defeated  in  1838.  On  February  4,  1839, 
this  representative  of  organized  labor  spoke  against 
the  reception  of  petitions  praying  for  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  He  also 
opposed  the  establishment  of  a  national  bank.  Ely 
Moore  was  one  of  the  presidents  of  the  first  na- 
tional federation  of  labor  organizations, — the  Na- 
tional Trades'  Union  which  held  conventions  in 
1834,  1835  and  1836. 

As  has  been  stated,  the  early  socialist  or  commu- 
nist movement  in  the  United  States  was  a  middle 
class  rather  than  a  working  class  movement.  Thom- 
as Skidmore,  the  agrarian,  was  the  first  real  Amer- 
ican socialist  agitator.  Robert  Owen  was  an  Eng- 
lishman. The  next  American  socialist  agitator  was 
Albert  Brisbane,  a  follower  of  the  Frenchman, 
Fourier.  At  the  time  when  Robert  Owen  and  many 
other  reformers  were  proclaiming  that  free  and 
universal  education  was  a  cure  for  all  social  ills, 
Skidmore  declared  that  equal  division  of  property 
was  the  first  and  most  essential  step.  Fourierism 
was  introduced  into  this  country  soon  after  the 
panic  of  1837  by  Albert  Brisbane,  Horace  Greeley, 
Charles  A.  Dana  and  others;  and  many  Fourierist 
communities  were  formed. 


LABOR  PARTIES  187 

Real  working  class  socialism  did  not  appear  until 
after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  During  the  years 
immediately  following  the  War,  it  was  fostered 
chiefly  through  German  influence.  The  "German 
period  of  socialism  in  the  United  States"  ended 
about  1876.  In  that  year  several  organizations  of 
socialists  were  united  to  form  the  Workingmen's 
party  of  the  United  States,  One  year  later  the  name 
was  changed  to  Socialist  Labor  party.  At  first  the 
Socialist  Labor  party  advised  its  members  not  to 
take  part  in  political  campaigns;  and,  although  in- 
terested in  several  local  campaigns,  especially  in 
New  York  City  and  Chicago,  it  did  not  put  a  presi- 
dential candidate  in  the  field  until  1892.  In  1886, 
this  party  in  the  city  of  New  York  united  with  the 
single  taxers  and  certain  labor  organizations  to 
support  Henry  George  for  Mayor  on  the  United 
Labor  ticket.  The  local  Socialist  Labor  party  in 
Chicago  polled  about  12,000  votes  in  the  city  elec- 
tion of  1879  and  elected  three  aldermen.  It  was 
soon  broken  into  factions. 

Although  the  Socialist  Labor  party  has  made  its 
appeal  directly  to  the  working  class,  its  support  has 
been  inconsiderable.  In  1896,  its  candidate  for 
President  polled  a  little  more  than  36,000  votes; 
and  in  1908,  about  15,000.  A  split  in  the  party  oc- 
curred and  in  1900  the  Socialist  party  held  its  first 
convention.  The  Socialist  party  has  been  some- 
what more  successful  than  the  Socialist  Labor  parly. 
In  1916,  the  former  represented  a  fairly  coherent 


i88  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

and  class  conscious  group  of  working  people.  The 
latter  commands  the  votes  of  only  a  few  thousand 
workers.  One  of  the  chief  points  of  difference  be- 
tween these  two  radical  parties  is  in  regard  to  the 
attitude  taken  toward  organizations  of  labor.  The 
Socialist  Labor  party  insists  that  trade  or  craft  un- 
ionism must  be  condemned  and  urges  workers  to 
organize  into  industrial  unions.  The  Socialist  party 
while  favorable  to  industrial  unionism  has  not  con- 
demned the  trade  union  type  of  organization.  The 
Socialist  party  stands  for  industrial  democracy  and 
opposes  special  privileges  of  all  kinds. 

In  191 1,  there  were  over  four  hundred  socialist 
officeholders  in  the  United  States.  These  were  scat- 
tered through  thirty-three  states  and  represented 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  municipalities  and  elec- 
tion districts.  In  19 10,  one  socialist  was  elected 
to  Congress;  but,  in  1912,  none  were  elected.  In 
1914,  and  again  in  1916,  another  socialist  was  sent 
to  the  House  of  Representatives.  In  1908,  the  so- 
cialist candidate  for  President  received  nearly  450,- 
000  votes;  in  1912,  nearly  900,000;  and,  in  1916, 
approximately  600,000.  In  191 7,  the  party  was 
split  on  the  question  of  the  entrance  of  the  United 
States  into  the  war.  Many  prominent  socialists  left 
the  party  because  it  had  been  committed  to  an  anti- 
war program  which  was  interpreted  to  mean  a  pro- 
German  bias.  If  our  traditional  two-party  arrange- 
ment continues,  there  is  offered  in  the  near  future 
little  hope  of  political  success  for  the  socialists.  But, 


LABOR  PARTIES  189 

if  this  system  breaks  up  and  the  American  situation 
approximates  that  in  European  nations,  the  social- 
ists may  have  a  new  opportunity.  The  RepubHcan 
party  of  19 16  was  an  aggregation  of  quite  diver- 
gent interests;  and  the  Democratic  party  was  far 
from  homogeneous.  A  several-party  system  in  the 
United  States  is  by  no  means  an  impossibility. 

From  time  to  time,  anti-political,  semianarchistic 
or  direct  action  movements  appear.  The  Owenite 
and  the  Chartist  movements  in  England  were  of  this 
type.  In  France  syndicalism  emphasizes  direct  ac- 
tion. The  so-called  anarchist  movement  of  the  eigh- 
ties which  culminated  in  the  Haymarket  riot  in  Chi- 
cago, was  an  American  manifestation  of  this  type  of 
labor  agitation.  At  the  present  time  the  anti-politi- 
cal or  direct  action  phase  of  the  labor  movement  in 
the  United  States  is  represented  by  the  Chicago 
branch  of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World. 

The  Industrial  Workers  of  *he  World  is  an  in- 
dustrial union  saturated  with  revolutionary  ideals. 
It  was  organized  in  1905,  and  soon  after  was  split 
into  two  factions  as  the  result  of  a  bitter  internal 
dissension.  The  Detroit  branch  emphasizes  the  im- 
portance of  organization  on  the  political  as  well  as 
on  the  industrial  field.  The  Chicago  branch  as- 
serts that  the  political  state  is  a  middle  class  instru- 
ment built  up  to  maintain  and  continue  small  scale 
industry  and  competition.  According  to  these  revo- 
lutionists, real  power  to-day  is  to  be  found  on  the 
industrial  field.     The   Industrial   Workers   of   the 


190  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

World  stand  firmly  for  no  compromise  with  the  em- 
ploying or  capitalist  class;  it  is  aggressively  hostile 
to  the  present  order.  "The  working  class  and  the 
employing  class  have  nothing  in  common."  Not  a 
fair  day's  work  for  a  fair  wage,  but  the  abolition 
of  capitalism  and  of  the  wage  system  is  their  in- 
sistent demand.  By  the  Industrial  Workers,  accord- 
ing to  one  of  its  adherents,  "communistic  and  co- 
operative associations,  consumers'  leagues,  grang- 
ers' unions,  larger  union  funds,  identity  of  inter- 
ests' discipline,  contracts,  old  age  pensions,  stock 
sharing,  civic  federations,  and,  not  the  least,  po- 
litical suffrage  and  'political  action,'  w^ere  once  and 
for  all,  weighed  and  found  wanting." 

Social  reform,  progress! vism,  patriotism,  ideal- 
ism, the  emancipation  of  women,  all  isms  and  cults, 
are  scornfully  waved  aside.  Militancy,  "one  big 
union,"  the  general  strike — these  are  things  worth 
while.  Evolution  or  step  by  step  progress  is  use- 
less or  worse  than  useless.  "In  the  birth  of  the 
I.  W.  W.  great  clarification  of  revolutionary  pur- 
pose is  evidenced."  This  militant  organization  will 
not  tolerate  "jockeying  with  passing  innovations" ; 
it  has,  according  to  its  followers,  thrust  down  to  a 
"bed-rock  basis."  These  enthusiastic  and  individu- 
alistic revolutionists  are  the  products  of  modem 
large  scale  machine  industry  and  the  antagonism 
between  labor  and  capital  which  has  manifested  it- 
self from  time  to  time  on  both  the  industrial  and 
the  political  field.     Many  of  the  members  of  the 


LABOR  PARTIES  191 

Chicago  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World  are  also 
members  of  the  Socialist  party;  but  their  opposition 
to  political  action  and  their  hatred  of  the  state  indi- 
cates that  they  should  be  classed  as  anarchists.  The 
Detroit  Industrial  Workers,  now  called  the  Work- 
ers' International  Industrial  Union,  is  closely  con- 
nected with  the  Socialist  Labor  party ;  it  looks  upon 
political  action  as  possessing  only  a  destructive  or 
negative  character.  With  the  downfall  of  capital- 
ism the  mission  of  political  action  will  be  ended. 
After  the  social  revolution  is  an  accomplished  fact, 
both  branches  apparently  agree  that  the  industrial 
field  alone  will  be  of  significance. 

The  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World  insist  that 
the  capitalistic  state  can  never  give  the  workers  a 
square  deal;  its  class  origin  makes  such  a  consum- 
mation an  improbable  outcome.  They  pin  their 
faith  on  a  new  and  democratic  industrial  state  in 
which  representation  is  to  be  by  industries  con- 
trolled by  the  workers.  The  Workers'  International 
Industrial  Union,  on  the  other  hand,  proposes  to 
organize  the  workers  politically  "along  class  con- 
scious lines"  and  in  this  fashion  finally  "to  capture 
the  government  by  constitutional  means." 

In  order  to  understand  the  "progressive  move- 
ment" of  recent  years,  its  historical  background 
must  be  hastily  sketched.  It  presents  many  features 
similar  to  those  of  the  humanitarian  movement  of 
the  forties  and  fifties.  The  humanitarian  leaders 
of  this  early  period  wished  to  continue  the  old, 


192  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

worn-out,  semipaternalistic  methods  of  domestic 
economy  into  modem  industrial  and  city  life.  They 
saw  the  then  existing  evils  of  woman  and  child 
labor,  pauperism,  juvenile  crime,  intemperance  and 
unemployment;  they  were  strongly  impressed  by 
the  disintegrating  effects,  upon  the  family,  of 
crowded  city  and  town  life;  and  they  magnified  and 
glorified  the  desirable  features  of  the  earlier  form  of 
domestic  industry  with  its  intimate  personal  relations 
between  workers  and  employers.  The  hurry  and 
hustle  of  business  and  the  keenness  of  the  race  for 
profits  offended  and  shocked  them;  and  no  golden 
stream  was  finding  its  way  into  their  pockets  to  ob- 
scure or  distort  their  vision  of  conditions,  past  and 
present.  The  humanitarian  leaders  of  the  forties  and 
fifties  saw  a  new  class  of  men  rising  to  control  not 
merely  the  wealth  but  the  political  and  social  affairs 
of  the  state  and  nation.  They  were  animated  by 
very  different  ideals  and  motives  from  those  which 
appealed  to  this  new  economic  and  social  class. 
These  two  classes  were  instinctively  antagonistic. 
The  humanitarians  of  this  early  period  more  or  less 
unconsciously  joined  hands  with  the  newborn  labor 
movement.*^ 

Since  the  Civil  War,  Americans  have  lauded  their 
captains  of  industry  and  millionaires.  The  ardent 
youth  has  been  influenced  to  take  these  men  as  his 

"  Carlton,  Economic  Influences  upon  Educational  Prog- 
ress in  the  United  States,  1820-1850,  pp.  41-42;  Carlton, 
"Humanitarianism,  Past  and  Present,"  International  Jour- 
nal of  Ethics,  vol.  17,  p.  48. 


LABOR  PARTIES  193 

guides.  He  has  hoped  to  travel  the  same  route  they 
have  traveled.  Corporate  interests  have  attracted 
the  most  ambitious  and  self-reHant  young  men  into 
their  service.  And  too  often  big  business  has  muf- 
fled the  voices  of  those  who  were  so  eagerly  and 
hopefully  pressing  forward  distinction  and  "suc- 
cess." But  gradually  this  well-known  path  toward 
personal  independence  and  material  prosperity  has 
become  narrower  and  more  difficult  for  the  new- 
comer to  tread.  The  giant  corporation  while  luring 
the  many,  plants  insurmountable  obstacles  in  front 
of  all  but  a  chosen  few.  The  western  frontier  line 
faded;  land  and  natural  resources  were  bound  to 
a  few  by  firm  legal  ties;  the  multimillionaire  ap- 
peared. And  the  era  of  the  much  lauded  self-made 
man  practically  closed.  A  large  percentage  of  the 
wealth  and  the  control  of  a  larger  percentage  of 
the  wealth  of  the  nation  were  at  the  end  of  the  first 
decade  of  the  present  century  in  the  hands  of  a 
small  minority  of  the  people.  The  small  and  me- 
diun;  sized  businesses  were  quite  generally  absorbed 
or  controlled  by  big  industrial  and  commercial  units. 
The  members  of  the  wage-earning  and  middle 
classes  were  debarred  from  the  prospect  of  large 
incomes.  The  force  of  circumstances  in  the  form 
of  industrial  evolution  thrust  wealth  aside  as  a  sig- 
nificant ideal  of  American  manhood.  The  road  for 
the  many  to  the  familiar  goal  was  blocked.  The 
vividness  and  attractiveness  of  the  old,  sordid,  indi- 
vidualistic ideal  perforce  faded,  and  another  higher 


194  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

up,  but  accessible,  was  seen  gradually  to  brighten 
and  take  form.  This  was  not  the  goal  of  wealth  but 
that  of  the  conservation  and  mobilization  of  human 
and  natural  resources.  Social  justice  became  the 
slogan  of  a  multitude  of  young  men  and  women. 
The  conditions  were  ripe  for  an  insurgent  uprising; 
and  the  so-called  progressive  movement  appeared. 
And  the  war  has  aided  in  making  real  democracy 
the  stirring  slogan  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Amer- 
ican people. 

The  "progressives"  of  the  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  War  were  composed  of  at  least  two  quite 
distinct  types  of  men.  The  first  class  represented 
the  new  middle  class — salaried  workers,  farmers, 
small  business  men,  certain  professional  men  re- 
ceiving fees  rather  than  salaries,  and  skilled  wage 
earners.  Many  progressives  of  this  type  possessed 
characteristics  very  similar  to  those  exhibited  by  the 
humanitarian  leaders  of  the  pre-Civil  War  period. 
This  wing  of  the  Progressives  protested  against  the 
control  of  government  by  large  business  interests. 
These  men  had  witnessed  the  crushing  of  many 
small  and  medium  sized  business  enterprises  by  large 
corporations.  The  opportunity  for  "business  ini- 
tiative" seemed  from  their  point  of  view  to  be  van- 
ishing. They  demanded  control  of  governmental 
machinery  for  the  purpose  of  retarding  or  of  turn- 
ing the  course  of  industrial  evolution.  Like  their 
predecessors,  the  humanitarians  of  the  forties  and 


LABOR  PARTIES  195 

fifties,  they  were  interested  in  bettering  the  condi- 
tion of  the  workingman. 

Doubtless  in  the  future  this  class  of  progressives 
must  be  reckoned  with.  Their  strength,  however, 
was  negative  rather  than  positive;  it  was  found  in 
protest  rather  than  in  a  definite  program  of  indus- 
trial and  social  betterment.  The  rapid  progress 
of  technical  inventions  seems  likely  to  destroy  the 
value  of  the  skill  and  training  of  many  skilled  Avage 
earners  and  salaried  persons.  From  the  adding  ma- 
chine and  the  tabulator  in  the  bank  and  the  counting- 
room  to  the  glass-bottle  blowing  machine  in  the  glass 
factory,  machinery  is  displacing  the  labor  of  skilled 
mental  and  manual  laborers.  The  relative  number 
of  unskilled  and  routine  workers  is  doubtless  on  the 
increase.  This  change  will  tend  to  undermine  the 
middle  class,  which  means  strengthening  the  social- 
ist party  rather  than  the  progressive  group.  The  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  tenant  farmers  and  the 
changes  taking  place  in  retail  business — the  attempts 
to  eliminate  the  middlemen — ^point  in  the  same  di- 
rection. 

The  second  group  of  progressives  was  led  by  cer- 
tain well-known  big  business  men  who  were  pri- 
marily interested  in  an  efficient,  well-trained  and 
contented  labor  force.  Mr.  Roosevelt's  program 
was  quite  satisfactory  to  this  group.  His  program 
looked  toward  state  socialism  or  "benevolent  feud- 
alism." It  was  proposed  to  control  industry  through 
commissions.     The  commissions  were  to  determine 


196  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

such  matters  as  wages  and  conditions  of  labor,  fair 
profits  and  reasonable  prices.  The  right  of  wage 
workers  to  organize  and  to  strike  was  not  definitely 
and  unreservedly  affirmed.  Industrial  justice  was 
promised;  but  its  definition  was  evidently  to  be 
framed  by  the  friends  of  big  and  small  business 
rather  than  by  organized  or  unorganized  wage 
workers.  Certain  shrewd  and  far-seeing  big-busi- 
ness leaders  skillfully  directed  the  movement.  They 
wished  to  dilute  radicalism  and  to  soothe  the  rest- 
less insurgents  by  ameliorating  conditions.  They 
stood  firmly  for  benevolent  feudalism  in  the  guise  of 
state  socialism.  A  striking  parallel  is  found  in  the 
social  policy  which  Bismarck  carried  out  in  Ger- 
many. The  events  of  1916  indicated  that,  like  many 
other  third  parties,  the  Progressive  party  as  a  dis- 
tinct organization  had  run  its  course ;  and  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  seems  to  have  taken  over  considerable 
portions  of  the  progressive  program.  It  is  also 
quite  clear  that  many  members  of  the  Progressive 
party  followed  a  leader  or  a  slogan  or  a  shibboleth 
rather  than  a  definite  set  of  principles.  Of  this,  the 
collapse  of  the  party  after  Mr.  Roosevelt  declined 
the  nomination  in  191 6  offers  unmistakable  evi- 
dence. 

In  October,  1917,  at  a  "conference  of  radical  and 
progressive  groups,"  a  "National  party"  was  or- 
ganized. The  aim  of  this  new  party  is  to  amalga- 
mate the  socialist  group  which  favors  the  war  pol- 
icy of  our  government,  the  single  taxers,  the  pro- 


LABOR  PARTIES  197 

hibitionists,  "most  of  the  principal  radical  ele- 
ments heretofore  in  the  Progressive  party,  together 
with  various  trade  union  and  other  radical  ele- 
ments" which  "are  working  hand  in  hand  to  ad- 
vance the  principles  of  fundamental  democracy.'* 
The  platform  of  the  party  contains  many  planks 
which  appeal  to  the  members  of  labor  organiza- 
tions ;  but  the  roster  of  officials  does  not  contain 
the  name  of  any  prominent  labor  leader.  The  new 
organization  is  clearly  not  a  "labor"  party.  In  191 9, 
a  "committee  of  forty-eight"  was  organized  to 
crystallize  the  sentiment  of  "liberal  and  independ- 
ent voters  of  the  forty-eight  states." 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    IDEALS    OF    THE   WAGE    EARNER 

Throughout  history  the  workers — slaves,  serfs, 
indentured  servants  and  wage  earners — have  ever 
constituted  a  depressed  class.  They  have  never  been 
the  recipients  of  special  privileges  or  of  unique  ad- 
vantages. Living  in  this  depressed  or  subordinate 
position  generation  after  generation  has  impressed 
upon  the  workers  certain  definite  ideals,  good  and 
bad.  In  this  class,  charity  in  its  true  sense  as  con- 
trasted with  the  condescension  of  philanthropy,  has 
attained  its  highest  development.  Sympathy — feel- 
ing with — is  a  marked  trait  among  those  who  are 
struggling  close  to  the  poverty  line.^  And  from 
time  to  time  ample  proof  has  been  given  of  the 
existence  of  working  class  solidarity.  Chaucer,  in 
his  portrayal  of  the  English  serf  or  peasant  of  the 
last  of  the  fourteenth  century,  pictures  this  humble 
medieval  worker  as  never  refusing  to  help  his  weak- 
er comrades.  The  English  worker  of  five  hun- 
dred years  ago  exhibited  the  same  high  ideals  of 
self-denial  and  of  sympathy  which  the  charity  work- 
ers of  to-day  often  find  in  the  most  unattractive 

*Addams,  Democracy  and  Social  Ethics,  c.  2. 
198 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    199 

sections  of  our  great  industrial  cities.  The  brother- 
hood of  man  was  no  abstract  theory  to  the  English 
peasant  of  1381;  rather  was  it  a  living  concrete 
practice.  "When  Adam  delved  and  Eve  span,"  they 
asked,  "who  then  was  the  gentleman?" 

But  to  the  aggressive  and  proud  landowning  baron 
no  clear  vision  of  human  brotherhood,  or  of  the 
golden  rule  universalized,  was  given.  The  creed  of 
the  baron  was  "might  makes  right" ;  and  "to  the 
strong  belongs  the  earth  and  the  products  thereof," 
was  their  title  deed.  To  the  baron,  the  feudal  land- 
lord, the  merchant,  the  manufacturer,  the  profes- 
sional man— in  short,  to  the  nobility  and  the  middle 
class — of  preceding  generations,  brotherhood  has 
been  a  pleasant  theory  or  something  eminently  desir- 
able for  others  to  practice. 

Because  they  have  been  a  depressed  and  non- 
privileged  class,  from  time  to  time  the  workers  as 
a  group  have  raised  their  voices  against  political 
corruption  and  the  oppression  by  the  ruling  ele- 
ments in  the  nation.  The  cry  of  the  Saxon  serf 
in  Norman  England  as  illustrated  in  the  songs  of 
the  period  is  not  dissimilar  to  that  of  the  modern 
wage  earner.  For  example,  listen  to  the  serf  of  the 
fourteenth  century.  "All  the  land  of  England  is 
moist  with  weeping  .  .  .  The  fraud  of  the  rulers 
prevails ;  peace  is  trodden  under  foot.  Right  and 
law  lie  asleep.  .  .  .  The  wealth  of  the  rich  is  in- 
creased by  exacting  gifts;  almost  all  nobles  spend 
their  time  in  contriving  evil;  the  mad  esquires  de- 


200  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

light  in  malice.  Lo!  the  rapacious  men  appear  on 
every  side."  ^  This  plaintive  cry  may  be  compared 
with  the  somewhat  more  vigorous  way  in  which  the 
leaders  of  the  American  wage  earners  have  voiced 
their  hatred  of  political  rottenness.  "It  is  a  sad  day 
for  the  people  when  such  rottenness  prevails  in  the 
Senate;  when  knavery  rules  the  House;  when  pam- 
pered debility  occupies  the  presidential  chair,  and 
cabinets  are  composed  of  corrupt  politicians  or  polit- 
ical ingrates.  .  .  .  The  laboring  man  of  to-day  in 
America,  whatever  he  may  be  theoretically,  is  prac- 
tically a  pariah  and  a  slave,  at  the  mercy  of  corrupt 
swindlers,  under  the  guise  of  respectable  capi- 
talists." 2 

From  time  to  time,  American  workingmen  have 
also  raised  their  voices,  but  quite  ineffectually,  in 
favor  of  the  simplification  of  our  legal  system.  They 
have  protested  against  the  legal  technicalities  which 
American  lawyer  legislators  have  delighted  in  in- 
serting into  the  statutes  and  the  rules  governing 
court  procedure.  They  have  also  protested  against 
the  emphasis  which  the  legal  mind  places  upon  pre- 
cedent because  precedent  is  necessarily  a  handicap 
upon  any  class  struggling  upward  toward  a  plane 
of  equality  with  other  classes. 

The  English  peasants  of  a  few  centuries  ago 
"were  not  a  people  broken  up  into  atoms  by  compe- 

*  Quoted  from  Collins,  Land  Reform,  p.  iio,  by  Heath, 
Contemporary  Review,  July,  1907. 

•  JVorkingmnn's  Advocate,  June  19,  1869. 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER   201 

tition  and  the  little  jealousies  resulting  therefrom, 
but  a  people  who  had  learned  to  feel  and  act  as  one 
body,  having  a  common  interest,  a  common  tradi- 
tion, common  rights  and  a  common  ideal  of  jus- 
tice." *  The  working  class,  whether  slave,  serf  or 
wage-earning,  has  never  been  characterized  by  the 
extreme  individualistic  atornism  so  often  deeply 
marked  upon  the  character  of  the  ruling  or  of  the 
middle  class.  The  conditions  existing  in  pre-Civil 
War  America  tended,  however,  to  produce  an  ex- 
cess of  individualism  among  the  wage  earners;  but 
since  the  War  the  pendulum  has  been  slowly  swing- 
ing backward  toward  the  normal. 

For  the  United  States,  at  least,  the  opening  years 
of  the  twentieth  century  were  vibrant  with  humani- 
tarian ideals,  with  theories  of  social  justice  and  of 
the  brotherhood  of  man.  **The  old  order  changeth." 
The  apathy  which  the  world  has  ever  manifested 
toward  poverty,  disease,  crime  and  degradation  was 
in  no  small  degree  dissipated;  and  men  eagerly 
looked  forward  to  the  time  when  poverty,  the  slum 
and  overwork  would  be  driven  from  the  land.  Mul- 
titudes of  organizations  devoted  to  human  better- 
ment came  into  being.  Men  of  different  classes 
spent  time,  energy  and  money  in  various  forms  of 
social  service.  What  was  the  potent  cause  of  this 
manifestation  of  social  ardor?  Was  it  due  solely 
to  the  enthusiasm  of  a  few  unique  and  far-seeing 
individuals;  or  was  the  cause  to  be  discerned  in 

*  Heath,  Contemporary  Review,  July,  1907,  pp.  92-93. 


202  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

changes  modifying  the  points  of  view  and  the  am- 
bitions of  many  individuals?  Hitherto,  Americans 
have  been  busy  developing  the  natural  resources 
of  this  great  nation  and  in  bringing  the  virgin  soil 
of  our  plains  and  valleys  under  cultivation.  Now, 
the  good  land  is  nearly  all  privately  owned,  the 
small  business  has  been,  in  no  small  measure,  dis- 
placed by  the  great  corporation  with  its  subdivision 
of  labor,  gradation  of  employees,  and  lockstep  meth- 
ods of  promotion. 

As  was  indicated  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the 
old  familiar  paths  to  the  traditional  American  goals 
of  independent  business  enterprise  have  been 
blocked.  The  fierceness  of  unrestrained  competi- 
tion is  being  gradually  softened ;  and  the  old  sordid 
ideals  seem  faded  and  gray  in  comparison  with  the 
new  and  shining  ideal  of  social,  national  and  interna- 
tional service.  The  industrial  evolution  which  is 
rapidly  forcing  the  middle  class  into  the  ranks  of 
the  salaried  men  and  tenants  is  slowly  but  surely 
inducing  this  class  to  accept  some  of  the  time 
honored  ideals  of  the  wage  earners.  Men  of  to-day 
succeed  not  so  much  by  struggling  single-handed 
and  alone  as  by  cooperation,  combination,  associa- 
tion and  united  effort.  The  strong,  self-reliant, 
self-centered  and  self-absorbed  individual  can  no 
longer  rise  from  poverty  to  a  position  of  power  and* 
affluence ;  and  public  opinion  no  longer  approves  of 
his  methods  or  ideals. 

The  American  youth  of  to-day's  middle  class  is 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    203 

dreaming  of  visions  which  are  quite  different  from 
those  of  his  grandfather  and  father.  Ideahsm,  in- 
dividual and  social  welfare,  "the  larger  good," 
are  being  analyzed  anew  by  the  ardent,  hopeful  and 
impatient  youth  of  this  generation.  While  many 
orators  and  writers  were  bemoaning  the  crass  ma- 
terialism of  the  age,  forces  unseen  by  superficial 
thinkers  were  undermining  the  basis  of  the  evils 
they  deplore.  To-day,  young  men  and  young 
women  are  turning  from  the  ideal  of  individual 
wealth  getting  as  the  chief  aim  of  life  to  the  fasci- 
nating ideal  of  expert  service  and  world  brother- 
hood. And  this  is  not  because  the  youth  of  to-day 
is  so  much  superior  to  his  immediate  predecessor 
or  so  much  more  sympathetic ;  but  because  the  old 
goals  are  not  to  be  reached,  and  because  an  unpre- 
cedented world  crisis  has  given  him  a  broader  and 
a  clearer  vision.  "Nature  is  rapidly  exhausting 
her  stock  of  bargains,"  a  popular  writer  informs  us. 
The  untrained,  "happy-go-lucky"  individual  has  lit- 
tle opportunity  to  obtain  exceptional  returns.  The 
day  of  the  expert  is  dawning ;  opportunity  is  knock- 
ing at  new  doors.  The  young  men  of  our  great 
middle  class,  trained  in  university  and  professional 
schools,  are  in  the  immediate  future  to  manage 
American  big  business  and  public  enterprises. 

The  actual  managers  of  typical  enterprises  of  to- 
day are  employed  experts — well-trained  salaried 
men.  The  owners  of  the  business — the  stockhold- 
ers— are  scattered  far  and  wide.     Of  course  many 


204  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

high  salaried  jobs  are  still  held  by  the  sons  and 
relatives  of  large  stockholders;  but  their  real  rela- 
tion to  the  actual  management  is  usually  nominal. 
And  more  and  more  are  business  projects  to  be 
regulated  or  operated  by  the  government  through 
boards  or  commissions  composed  of  v^^ell-trained 
persons.  Men  of  the  type  of  General  Goethals,  Rob- 
ert G.  Valentine  and  John  R.  Commons,  rather  than 
of  the  type  of  Carnegie,  Rockefeller  and  Morgan, 
are  to  be  the  honored  men  of  the  next  decade  or 
two.  Not  much  longer  in  mere  money-making  can 
the  average  youth  of  to-day  find  the  stuff  out  of 
which  to  feed  his  ambitions  and  to  construct  his 
ideals ;  but,  nevertheless,  business  activities  as  well 
as  the  great  reform  movements  of  the  day  do  of- 
fer such  material  in  abundance.  The  newer  type  of 
business  man  is  beginning  to  look  upon  business  as 
a  profession  in  the  best  sense  of  that  somewhat 
abused  term. 

As  a  consequence,  doubtless,  of  certain  lessons 
taught  by  the  Great  War,  the  individualistic  atom- 
ism of  yesterday  is  being  forgotten  in  the  presence 
of  a  stirring  enthusiasm  for  team-work.  Human 
betterment  is  the  new  and  popular  shibboleth.  Many 
are  the  forces  now  making  the  widespread  develop- 
ment of  the  spirit  of  mutual  helpfulness  and  of  so- 
cial service  or  community  work.  A  new  vision  of 
world  betterment  is  gradually  spreading  line  by  line, 
feature  by  feature,  over  those  of  the  past,  as  one 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    205 

picture  of  the  lantern  slowly  and  almost  impercept- 
ibly dissolves  into  another.  But  this  is  the  splendid 
vision  which  the  manual  laborers  have  ever  seen 
dimly  and  as  if  afar  off. 

In  recent  years,  Americans  have,  as  the  result  of 
necessity,  manifested  much  interest  in  industrial  re- 
lations, in  the  point  of  view  of  the  workers,  and  in 
the  causes  of  industrial  unrest  and  of  the  antago- 
nism between  employers  and  employees.  On  all 
sides,  up  to  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into 
the  Great  Struggle,  the  observer  found  discord  and 
"sizzling  animosity."  The  point  of  view  of  the 
American  wage  worker  is  often  declared  to  be  biased 
and  prejudiced;  and  the  ideals  and  practices  of  or- 
ganized labor  are  often  held  to  be  subversive  of  the 
best  interests  of  society  and,  indeed,  of  its  own  best 
interests.  The  following  extract  from  an  article  pub- 
lished in  The  Forum  is  typical  of  complaints  made 
by  many  employers  in  a  period  of  expanding  busi- 
ness. "Instead  of  taking  advantage  of  the  higher 
wages  to  save  money  or  better  their  condition,  a 
large  proportion  of  the  workingmen  take  holidays 
after  they  have  earned  a  sum  equal  to  their  usual 
weekly  wage.  And  even  while  at  work,  the  em- 
ployers reported,  the  men  have  been  lazy  and  inde- 
pendent. .  .  .  Artisans,  mechanics  and  laboring 
men  have  lost  what  small  respect  they  had  for  their 
employers.  Remonstrance  has  failed  to  curb  the 
spread  of  insolence,  instead  an  effort  to  stir  up  the 
men  has  led  to  strikes  or  the  men  quitting  with- 


2o6  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

out  notice,"  '^  In  this  article  the  time  honored,  but 
naive,  assumption  is  made  that  workingmen  ought 
to  be  docile  and  faithful  machines. 

In  the  days  of  peace  employers  repeatedly  asserted 
that  men  "are  too  lazy  to  work" ;  and  unfortunately 
this  assertion  had  in  many  cases  a  very  considerable 
element  of  truth.  Work  is  too  often — usually — per- 
formed by  the  average  unskilled  wage  worker  in  a 
spiritless  manner.  Too  many  workers  hate  their 
job,  watch  the  clock  and  "soldier."  And  yet,  on 
occasion,  the  indifferent  and  spiritless  worker  will 
rise  to  heights  of  enthusiasm.  He  will,  for  example, 
"yell  his  head  off  at  a  ball  game."  The  mass  of 
workers  possess  great  latent  possibilities ;  there  are, 
indeed,  enormous  untapped  human  resources.  The 
achievements  of  the  American  army  in  France  offer 
adequate  testimony.  The  problem  is  to  tap  these 
latent  possibilities  in  the  ordinary''  times  of  peace. 
Why  are  the  ambitions  and  hopes  which  are  charac- 
teristic of  young  persons  crushed  out  of  so  many 
workers?  What  are  the  conditions  in  industry  or 
in  home  life  which  cause  the  bright  hopes  and  stir- 
ring ambitions  to  fade,  and  which  transform  the 
youth  into  the  hopeless  and  spiritless  unskilled 
worker,  into  the  migratory  and  casual  worker,  into 
the  hobo  and  the  down-and-outer  ?  Here  are  prob- 
lems which  may  well  attract  the  attention  of  the 
unionist,  of  the  employer,  of  the  social  worker  and 
of  the  statesman.     If  the  nation's  greatest  asset  is 

"  The  Forum,  September,  1916,  pp.  382-383. 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    207 

its  men;  then,  indeed,  this  problem  of  the  deteriora- 
tion of  manhood  has  been  and  may  again  be  an 
acute  and  vital  problem  in  the  United  States. 

Bitter  denunciations  or  emotional  appeals  accom- 
plish little  or  nothing  in  modifying  the  attitude  of 
the  workers,  or  in  clarifying  the  irritating  and  com- 
plex problems  involved.  Careful  inquiries  into 
causes  are  sorely  needed.  Why  does  the  worker 
"soldier"  on  the  job?  Why  does  he  manifest  little 
or  no  enthusiasm  for  his  job  or  its  results?  Why 
do  both  unionists  and  nonunionists  so  frequently 
restrict  output?  Why  are  workers  lacking  in  "loy- 
alty" to  their  employers?  Why  are  the  number  of 
migratory  and  casual  workers  increasing?  These 
and  many  other  similar  questions  go  directly  to  the 
core  of  the  difficulty. 

From  the  early  days  when  the  captives  in  battle 
were  forced  to  till  the  soil  for  the  benefit  of  their 
conquerors,  through  the  long  eras  of  slavery  and 
serfdom,  to  the  modern  wage  system  with  its  defi- 
nite payment  of  money  wages,  there  has  been  a  fun- 
damental difference  in  the  point  of  view  of  the 
worker,  on  the  one  hand,  and  that  of  the  master, 
feudal  landlord  or  employer,  on  the  other.  The  lat- 
ter is  interested  primarily  in  the  product  of  the 
worker's  toil,  and  only  secondarily  in  the  welfare 
and  uplift  of  the  toiler.  The  modern  employer  is 
more  humane  than  his  prototype;  but  the  basic  in- 
centive in   his  demand   for  workers  is   old.     The 


2o8  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

workers,  ancient,  medieval  or  modern,  were  and  are, 
of  course,  self -centered.  They  have  been  dragged 
into  the  active  work  of  the  world  unwillingly,  as 
if  by  the  hair  of  the  head.  Compulsion — the  lash, 
fear  of  hunger  and  of  the  lack  of  comforts — has 
been  the  potent,  but  negative,  force  which  has 
throughout  the  years  hastened  the  steps  of  the  lag- 
ging worker.  Work  has  been  to  the  worker  a 
means  to  an  end, — escape  from  the  lash  of  the  mas- 
ter or  to  gain  a  livelihood ;  there  has  been  little  joy 
in  work.  To  the  employer,  or  the  master,  produc- 
tive activity  on  the  part  of  the  mass  of  people  is 
the  excuse  for  their  existence.  The  workers  in  this 
new  era  of  great  productivity  are  catching  the  vision 
that  work  should  be  performed  for  the  sake  of 
leisure  and  comfort  for  themselves.  Modern  de- 
mocracy is  emphasizing,  in  the  phraseology  of 
another,  not  more  respect  for  men,  but  respect  for 
more  men.  "More  respect  for  men"  is  the  older 
idea;  "respect  for  more  men"  is  a  phrase  pregnant 
with  hope  of  better  living  conditions  for  the  masses. 
"Respect  for  more  men"  and  for  all  sorts  of  men 
is  an  essential  part  of  the  inspiring  plan  to  "make 
the  world  safe  for  democracy,"  But  this  is  little 
more  than  a  vision  as  yet ;  and  few  are  the  employ- 
ers who  have  even  caught  a  glimpse  of  this  inspiring 
ideal.  May  the  War  teach  us  all  that  democracy, 
world  peace  and  progress  demand  faithful  and  effi- 
cient work  from  all  and  a  measure  of  self-sacrifice 
in  the  interest  of  social  welfare. 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    209 

It  is  often  asserted  that  employees,  particularly 
union  men,  are  not  loyal  to  their  employers.  The 
unionist  retorts  by  asking:  Why  should  an  em- 
ployee be  "loyal"  to  his  employer?  And  what  is 
meant  by  the  term  when  used  by  dissatisfied  and 
irritated  employers?  By  loyalty,  if  the  term  is 
analyzed  carefully,  employers  usually  mean  willing 
and  somewhat  humble  submission  to  the  wishes 
and  mandates  of  the  employers.  Historically  con- 
sidered, the  "loyalty"  concept  is  a  survival  of  feu- 
dal ideals  carried  down  into  the  twentieth  century. 
May  not  the  persistent  inquirer  reasonably  ask : 
are  sellers  of  commodities  expected  to  exhibit  "loy- 
alty" toward  the  purchasers  of  these  commodities? 
If  not,  why  should  the  employees  of  a  corporation 
manifest  "loyalty"  toward  the  purchasers  of  their 
labor  power?  Does  the  employer  in  turn  exhibit 
great  "loyalty"  toward  his  employees?  Does  he 
not  vociferously  insist  unless  restrained  by  the  war 
power  of  the  government  that  he  may  hire  and  fire 
any  and  all  of  his  employees  for  any  reason  or  for 
no  reason?  Should  not  "loyalty"  be  a  reciprocal 
relation?  Stripped  of  nonessentials  and  of  anti- 
quated conceptions  of  human  relationships,  loyalty 
means  fealty  to  an  employer.  It  means  that  the 
worker  ought  not  to  follow  the  course  of  action 
dictated  by  self-interest  or  by  the  interests  of  the 
working  class.  "Loyalty"  contains,  carefully  con- 
cealed under  the  cloak  of  duty  and  fidelity,  the  feu- 
dal conceptions  of  inequality  and  the  superiority 


2IO  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

of  the  employer  over  the  employee.  If  this  analysis 
reveals  the  true  significance  of  loyalty,  it  can  with 
propriety  be  eliminated  in  a  democracy,  A  recent 
and  very  stimulating  writer  has  enthusiastically 
declared  that  "a  willingness  to  be  nothing  is  a 
crime  against  mankind.  The  amount  of  actual 
damage  which  the  humble  and  contrite  of  spirit 
can  inflict  upon  the  class  to  which  they  belong,  upon 
the  coming  generation,  and  upon  relatives  is  equaled 
by  nothing  short  of  war  and  pestilence.  To  fail 
of  self-assertion  is  to  carry  backward  the  hopes 
of  others."  °  In  fact,  as  has  been  indicated,  the 
conditions  which  stimulated  and  cherished  loyalty 
to  individuals  are  passing.  "The  personal  relation- 
ship in  industry  is  fading;  the  tenure  of  a  job  is 
becoming  weaker;  the  pride  of  individual  work  is 
vanishing  as  division  and  standardization  of  labor 
advances." 

From  the  point  of  view  of  efficiency  and  of  in- 
centive there  are  at  least  two  fatal  weaknesses  in 
the  industrial  situation  which  prevailed  up  to  April, 
1917.  Much  of  the  work  which  must  be  performed 
when  no  war  emergency  grips  the  nation  is  done 
under  conditions  which  make  it  uninteresting  and 
which  also  lead  the  worker  to  feel  that  it  is  of  lit- 
tle importance.  Secondly,  the  idea  is  too  often 
impressed  upon  the  worker  through  the  teachings 
of  the  school  of  experience  that  rapid  and  effi- 
cient work  spells  lack   of  work    for   himself   and 

"Weeks,  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  vol.  21,  p.  519. 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    211 

his  fellow  workers.  Doubtless,  the  regularizing 
of  industry  will  go  far  toward  eliminating  the  sec- 
ond difficulty. 

The  typical  worker  of  to-day  is  sentenced  to  a 
monotonous  routine  day  after  day,  year  in  and  year 
out ;  he  soon  becomes  almost  automatic  in  his  move- 
ments. The  wage  worker  reluctantly,  under  the 
goad  of  economic  necessity,  works  half-heartedly 
without  seeing  the  end  in  view  and  without  in  even 
the  remotest  fashion  perceiving  that  he  is  an  im- 
portant and  a  necessary  factor  in  society's  great 
producing  mechanism.  To  what  extent  war  time 
experience  may  cause  a  modification  in  this  obser- 
vation is  as  yet  an  unknown  quantity.  Modern  in- 
dustrial methods  do  not  give  the  worker  in  the 
ranks  joy  in  his  work,  it  does  not  give  him  the 
thrill  of  worthwhile  achievement,  it  gives  him  little 
inkling  of  the  usefulness  of  his  activity.  The 
wage  worker  has  not  known  "what  it  is  all  about"; 
the  publicity  given  national  requirements  during 
the  War  may  assist  the  worker  in  visualizing  his 
job.  Few  there  are  who  are  joyful  in  the  perform- 
ance of  their  daily  tasks.  And  each  morning  "the 
spiritless  and  sodden  tread  of  millions  headed  for 
the  factories  cannot  but  be  impressive."  But,  it 
may  again  be  remarked,  these  indifferent  and  spirit- 
less workers  have  a  great  untapped  reserve  of 
energy.  The  Great  War  surely  furnished  sufficient 
proofs  to  substantiate  this  statement.     The  War  is 


212  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

over  but  we  are  again  hearing  "the  spiritless  and 
sodden  tread  of  milHons"  of  workers. 

A  job  means  an  opportunity  to  earn  a  hving;  it 
should  also  mean  an  opportunity  to  be  of  service 
to  the  community, — an  opportunity  to  produce  some 
service  or  commodity  which  will  be  of  benefit  to 
fellowmen.  The  War  has  taught  many  Americans 
that  industry  should  be  carried  on  in  the  interest 
of  the  entire  nation.  A  job  should  also  offer  an 
opportunity  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  "instinct  of 
workmanship"  which  is  possessed  by  every  normal 
human  being.  A  job  should  be  something  more 
than  an  "eternal  grind."  But  this  is  not  all.  The 
lack  of  effective  motivation  of  the  typical  wage 
worker  is  one  of  the  fundamental  weaknesses  of 
the  present  industrial  order  under  peaceful  condi- 
tions. Educators  emphasize  the  importance  of  in- 
terest. Lack  of  interest  is  a  serious  handicap  in 
the  development  of  a  student.  Lack  of  interest  in 
the  work  to  be  performed  likewise  spells  inefficiency 
on  the  part  of  the  manual  worker.  If  a  worker  is 
interested  only  in  his  pay  envelope,  if  he  has  little 
or  no  interest  in  turning  out  good  work,  if  his  "in- 
stinct of  workmanship"  is  in  no  way  appealed  to,  his 
efficiency  will  be  below  par  in  spite  of  shrewdly  de- 
vised schemes  of  driving  or  of  scientific  management. 
"What  little  experience  is  as  yet  available  points  to 
the  conclusion  that  devices  for  securing  a  genuine 
enthusiasm  for  the  job  mean  much  more  than  any 
system  of  scientific  management  for  the  health  and 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    213 

happiness  of  the  employee,  for  industry,  and  for 
industrial  peace."  '^ 

Doubtless,  the  efficiency  of  an  industrial  organi- 
zation depends  in  part  upon  whether  it  is  doing 
"worthwhile"  work  or  making  profits  a  maximum. 
"As  a  rule,  capable  workers  become  interested  in 
some  concrete  aspect  of  what  they  are  doing.  For 
example,  a  railroad  force  will  be  keen  for  master- 
ing snowdrifts  and  floods,  for  making  schedule 
time,  breaking  records,  beating  a  rival  road,  or  per- 
fecting the  service.  They  strain  continually  to 
reach  a  standard  of  excellence  in  their  minds,  and 
normally,  as  their  efforts  succeed,  their  standard 
rises."  ^  But  when  profits  become  the  sole  aim  of 
the  management,  the  eagerness — the  zeal — of  the 
workers  evaporates. 

Before  the  imperfectly  defined  ideals  of  the  work- 
ing class  can  become  more  than  glittering  generali- 
ties having  no  relation  to  conduct  in  the  work-a-day 
world,  the  working  group  must  obtain,  what  Profes- 
sor Cooley  has  called,  "a  corporate  consciousness 
and  a  sense  of  the  social  worth  of  its  function." 
This  can  come  under  modern  conditions  only  after 
the  development  of  strong  and  stable  unions  which 
are  safe  from  bitter  antagonism.  Union  men  can- 
not get  "a  sense  of  the  social  worth"  of  their  work 
while  they  are  forced  to  put  militant  activities  in 

'  Fisher,  American  Labor  Legislation  Review,  1917,  vol. 
7,  P-  20. 

Ross,  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  July,  1916,  pp. 
6-7. 


214  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  foreground.  The  anti-social  ideals  which  so 
often  appear  among  organized  workers  are  the  nat- 
ural fruits  of  modern  industry  and  of  industrial 
autocracy.  To  develop  high  ideals  as  to  function 
and  workmanship,  a  stable  and  organized  group 
must  be  brought  into  existence  whose  function  and 
right  to  live  are  recognized  by  the  leaders  in  the 
industrial  and  political  world.  "The  union,  fight- 
ing for  its  right  to  live,  is  sometimes  forced  to 
tolerate  acts  that  would  not  be  countenanced,  if  its 
entity  were  secure  and  its  rights  were  not  absorbed 
in  fighting  for  existence."  ^ 

A  distinct  line  of  cleavage  appears  between  even 
the  most  altruistic  middle  class  progressive  and 
the  unionist  whether  the  latter  be  of  the  business  or 
of  the  revolutionary  type.  What  the  unionist  really 
wants,  and  firmly  believes  is  his  due,  is  more  pay 
for  the  same  or  for  less  work.  The  employer,  of 
course,  is  insistent  upon  more  work  fom  the  work- 
er, and  he  is  especially  interested  in  larger  profits. 
The  reformer  of  the  progressive  type  takes  the  mid- 
dle ground.  He  insists  on  the  essential  harmony  of 
economic  interests.  His  slogan  is  more  efficient 
work,  greater  output,  higher  wages,  and  incidental- 
ly profits  which  are  not  lessened.  The  reformer, 
who  is  not  as  a  rule  subjected  to  the  usual  pressure 
of  the  business  world,  presents  the  alluring,  but 
indefinite,  ideal  of  service.     But  the  worker  posi- 

"  Report  of  Commission  on  Industrial  Relutions,  1915 
ed.,  p.  280. 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    215 

lively  asserts  that  his  first  duty  is  to  himself  and  his 
family,  and  to  others  of  the  working  class.  He  de- 
mands higher  wages  and  a  shorter  working  day 
without  caring  whether  these  demands  will  lead  to 
more  or  less  service  to  the  community.  The  em- 
ployer, likewise,  demands  his  profits  irrespective  of 
service.  A  careful  analysis  of  the  ideals  and  mo- 
tives of  the  middle  class  reformers  and  experts  as 
a  group  will  doubtless  disclose  a  considerable  modi- 
cum of  group  selfishness  and  class  prejudice. 

The  methods  used  by  various  organized  groups 
of  wage  earners  and  the  ideals  held  by  them  seem 
widely  different  to  many  observers.  Organized 
labor  may  be  roughly  classed  into  two  not  entirely 
distinct  kinds :  Business  and  revolutionary  union- 
ism. The  former  accepts  the  present  order — ^but 
strives  earnestly  to  improve  the  condition  of  the 
working  class  through  collective  bargaining,  strikes, 
boycotts  and  other  familiar  union  methods.  This 
group  stands  for  step  by  step  betterment  of  the 
working  class.  Perhaps  its  program  will  eventually 
lead  to  a  new  economic  order,  but  the  vision  of  this 
type  of  unionist  is  fixed  upon  immediate  goals.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  revolutionary  unionist  is  impa- 
tient and  distrustful  of  slow  gains;  he  is  eager 
forthwith  to  eliminate  the  capitalist  and  the  middle 
class. 

Complacent  Americans  have  confidently  asserted 
that  socialism  and  revolutionary  unionism  are  of 
European   origin   and    that   these    will    inevitably 


2i6  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

wither  and  die  when  planted  in  the  soil  of  free 
America.  But  the  socialism  which  emphasizes  po- 
litical action  is  here  and  enjoying  a  healthy  growth; 
and  in  recent  years  a  modified  form  of  syndicalism 
and  of  revolutionary  unionism  has  raised  its  sinis- 
ter form  in  America  and  England.  Direct  action 
is  the  plan  of  the  radical  industrial  unionist.  With 
"the  one  big  union"  he  proposes  even  in  wartime  to 
strike  directly  at  the  heart  of  the  nation  by  paralyz- 
ing some  great  integrated  industry.  This  enthusi- 
astic radical  is  passionately  urging  his  colaborers 
to  force  the  capitalist,  the  general  public  and  the 
government  to  come  to  terms  with  organized  labor 
by  means  of  a  mass  strike  which  will  stop  the  heart- 
beat of  industry,  or  by  means  of  sabotage  which  is 
a  peculiarly  insidious  weapon.  The  employer  has 
too  often  starved  out  his  striking  employees;  the 
direct  actionist  is  eagerly  reaching  for  the  same 
weapon.  The  latter  proposes  to  starve  or  freeze  the 
nation  into  submission  by  stopping  transportation 
or  by  refusing  to  dig  coal.  And  in  view  of  re- 
cent and  familiar  events,  the  task  does  not  appear 
to  be  impossible  or  chimerical.  A  mass  or  indus- 
trial union  with  power  at  the  flash  of  a  signal  to 
tie  up  the  shipping  of  a  great  nation,  an  entire  rail- 
way system,  or  the  associated  plants  of  a  giant 
industrial  corporation,  is  an  organization  possess- 
ing great  power.  It  is  useless  to  call  such  an  or- 
ganization or  its  members  bad  names  or  to  reiter- 
ate the  statement  that  it  can  never  succeed.    Syndi- 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    217 

calism,  direct  action,  the  mass  strike  and  the  indus- 
trial union  are  actualities.  The  English  "revolt 
of  labor"  of  a  few  years  ago,  the  Lawrence  strike, 
the  threatened  railway  strikes  of  19 16  and  191 7, 
and  the  various  "free-speech"  fights  are  fore- 
tastes of  what  may  follow  in  the  not  distant  future. 

The  men  who  crowd  the  ranks  of  the  revolu- 
tionary unions,  the  men  who  join  the  Industrial 
Workers  of  the  World,  are  the  restless  and  the  ir- 
repressible. They  are  in  many  respects  like  the 
men  who,  in  the  earlier  years  of  our  national  his- 
tory, pressed  eagerly  forward  over  the  trails  which 
led  to  the  frontier,  to  the  gold  mines  and  to  the 
haunts  of  the  picturesque  cowboy.  The  members 
of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World  are  the 
successors  of  the  boys  who  went  West  or  to  sea. 
To-day,  the  quietude,  routine,  regularity  and  repres- 
sion of  industrial  life  are  repulsive  to  these  vigorous 
and  primitive-like  men,  and  they  appear  as  anti- 
social groups,  vigorously  protesting  against  the  new 
order  of  things.  Although  these  men  are  individu- 
alistic, they  emphasize  the  harmony  of  interests 
among  members  of  the  working  class. 

The  industrial  unionist  and  many  old-line  trade 
unionists  are  abandoning  old  and  familiar  watch- 
words and  traditional  policies.  For  example,  the 
revolutionary  unionist  is  opposed  to  making  con- 
tracts with  employers.  This  new  unionist  objects 
to  the  ratification  of  labor  contracts  which  bind 
the  employees  for  a  given  period  of  time.     The 


2i8  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

radical  in  the  ranks  of  organized  labor  declares  that 
the  strength  of  the  militant  union  is  the  only  ade- 
quate guarantee  that  the  provisions  of  a  labor  con- 
tract will  be  carried  out.  He  demands  the  priv- 
ilege of  striking,  or  of  threatening  to  strike,  at  what 
seems  to  be  the  most  advantageous  moment.  The 
sympathetic  or  multiplied  strike  is,  therefore,  given 
a  prominent  place  among  the  up-to-date  weapons  of 
militant  unionism.  In  the  revised  doctrines  of  in- 
dustrial, mass,  or  even  of  amalgamated  unionism 
the  old  humanitarian  doctrine  of  the  harmony  of 
interests  between  employer  and  employee  is  dis- 
dainfully rejected.  The  stirring  slogan  of  these 
enthusiastic  and  bigoted  partisans  is  the  solidarity 
of  the  wage-earning  class.  Even  conservative 
unionists  are  beginning  to  accept  these  ideals  of  the 
radical  group;  and  such  decisions  as  that  given  in 
the  famous  Danbury  Hatters'  Case  in  which  the 
principle  that  individual  members  are  financially 
"responsible  without  limit  for  the  unlawful  actions 
of  the  union  officers  and  agents  which  they  have  in 
any  manner  authorized  or  sanctioned,"  are  power- 
ful factors  in  transforming  conservative  into  radi- 
cal unionists.^*^  The  World  War  with  its  emphasis 
upon  democracy  checked  this  tendency.  The  course 
of  events  during  the  first  year  of  reconstruction  un- 
fortunately points  to  the  conclusion  that  this  check 
will  only  be  temporary. 

See  Commons  and  Andrews,  Principles  of  Labor  Leg- 
islation, pp.   120-122. 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    219 

Not  only  has  industrial  integration  or  combina- 
tion furnished  an  incentive  and  a  reason  for  the 
partial  erasure  of  craft  differences  and  demarca- 
tions, but  the  shortsighted  and  fatuous  policy  of 
many  associations  of  employers,  such  as,  for  ex- 
ample, that  of  the  National  Association  of  Manu- 
facturers, is  driving  many  trade  union  men  into  a 
hard  and  coherent  mass  union  in  which  trade  de- 
marcations count  for  little.  And  the  bitter,  unrea- 
soning, archaic  hatred  and  opposition  of  many  mem- 
bers of  such  associations  do  but  furnish  the  fuel 
which  heats  the  melting  pot  and  reduces  the  crys- 
tallized trade  unions  to  the  amorphous  mass  union. 
These  gentlemen  are  in  reality  the  promoters  par 
excellence  of  revolutionary  industrial  unionism  and 
of  impossibilist  socialism. 

The  strength  of  the  constitutional  barriers  which 
have  been  thrown  around  property  rights  in  this 
country  has  furnished  much  ammunition  for  the 
direct  actionists.  When  a  conservative  writer  like 
President  Hadley  of  Yale  University  tells  us  that 
"the  general  status  of  the  property  owned  under 
the  law  cannot  be  changed  by  the  action  of  the  legis- 
lature, or  the  executive,  or  the  people  of  a  state  vot- 
ing at  the  polls,  or  all  these  put  together,"  it  is  not 
difficult  to  see  how  the  impatient  mass  of  poorly 
paid  wage  earners  may  readily  be  induced  to  accept 
the  crude  philosophy  of  direct  action.  The  futility 
of  indirect — political — action  is  pointed  out,  and 
the  old  appeal  to  violence  again  stirs  the  hearts  of 


220  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

wage  workers  confronting  well  organized  and  hos- 
tile employers  aided  by  legal  and  constitutional 
forms.  Furthermore,  the  big  corporations  them- 
selves too  often  set  an  example  in  direct  action  by 
the  use  of  corruption  funds,  jackpots,  armed  guards, 
and  extra-legal  political  pressure. 

History  clearly  records  the  fact  that  revolution 
is  far  less  efficient  as  an  instrument  of  progress 
than  evolution.  Revolution  moves  forward  rapidly 
but  not  steadily,  and  the  inevitable  reaction  spells 
retrogression.  Both  the  forward  and  the  backward 
movements  are  accompanied  by  much  social  fric- 
tion culminating  frequently  in  bloodshed  and  the 
destruction  of  property.  The  spectacular  industrial 
changes  which  have  transformed  the  stage  coach 
into  the  locomotive  and  the  Pullman  parlor  car,  the 
blacksmith's  hammer  into  a  giant  drop  hammer, 
and  the  individual  firm  into  a  nest  of  interrelated 
big  corporations,  have  effectively  paved  the  way 
toward  great  social  and  legal  adjustments.  To 
stand  firm  for  the  old  rights  and  privileges  is  but 
to  store  up  wrath  for  the  future.  Sooner  or  later 
the  obstacles  formed  by  legal  technicalities  and  ruth- 
less economic  power  will  be  swept  aside;  and  the 
longer  the  delay  the  greater  the  amount  of  pent-up 
social  energy  in  the  form  of  dissatisfaction  and  un- 
rest. If  progress  toward  economic  justice  and 
equality  of  opportunity  is  arbitrarily  held  back  by 
unwise  and  out-of-date  legislation  and  legal  deci- 
sions, and  by  frantic  appeals  to  outgrown  watch- 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    221 

words  and  formulae,  the  flood,  like  that  which  fol- 
lows the  breaking  of  a  river  dam,  will  be  destruc- 
tive. The  French  Revolution  is  an  extreme,  example 
of  the  manner  in  which  long-obstructed  evolution 
paves  the  way  for  revolution  and  later  for  reaction. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  reform  measures  are  passed, 
if  labor  organizations  are  recognized  and  bargained 
with  as  was  done  under  the  pressure  of  the  war 
emergency,  the  disaster  may  be  obviated  and  the 
friction  of  adjustment  to  large  scale  industry  may 
be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  their  apparent  radical- 
ism, the  rank  and  file  of  the  working  class  are  natur- 
ally and  consistently  conservative  except  when  many 
are  subjected  to  the  pressure  of  distressing  circum- 
stances or  of  rank  social  injustice.  The  radical  re- 
formers of  the  revolutionary  type  will  not  become 
dangerous;  they  will  outrun  public  sentiment  and 
their  ideals  will  be  considered  the  vagaries  of  brain- 
less or  personally  inefficient  enthusiasts,  unless  the 
reactionary  conservatives  obtain  sufficient  power, 
and  use  it,  to  block  political,  legal  and  social  adjust- 
ments to  new  conditions  resulting  from  economic 
and  industrial  advance  and  the  stress  of  war.  In- 
creasing class  antagonisms,  mass  strikes,  the  bitter 
recriminations  of  employers*  associations  and  labor 
organizations  of  the  pre-war  period,  all  pointed  to 
increasing  social  friction  and  maladjustments.  The 
question  is:  Shall  the  adjustment  to  "trustified" 
industry  and  world  markets  be  by  revolution  or  by 


222  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

evolution?  Not:  Shall  there  be  adjustment?  Ad- 
justment is  inevitable ;  but  direct  action  is  not  neces- 
sarily inevitable.  In  a  consideration  of  the  prob- 
able trend  of  American  unionism  in  the  immediate 
future,  these  points  must  not  be  forgotten. 

Internationalism  and  anti-militarism  are  two 
closely  related  and  quite  generally  accepted  ideals  of 
the  wage-earning  class.  The  great  European  war 
inevitably  led  America  to  place  increased  stress  upon 
nationalism  and  preparedness  for  military  emer- 
gencies. The  working  people  of  the  United  States 
and  of  other  nations  may  be  expected  to  constitute 
the  backbone  of  the  opposition  to  plans  for  military 
conquest  and  to  extreme  devotion  to  the  spirit  of 
nationalism.  Before  it  was  anticipated  that  the 
United  States  would  be  drawn  into  the  great  world 
struggle,  Mr.  Gompers,  speaking  before  the  Na- 
tional Civic  Federation,  is  reported  to  have  said  in 
part:  "The  wage  earners  no  longer  will  be  denied 
their  right  to  participate  in  determining  those  things 
which  affect  their  welfare.  .  .  .  No  part  of  our  citi- 
zenship is  more  unalterably  opposed  to  ideals  of  mil- 
itarism and  compulsion."  John  P.  White,  President 
of  the  United  Mine  Workers,  the  largest  national 
union  affiliated  in  the  American  Federation,  also 
opposed  agitation  for  preparedness.  Advocates  of 
preparedness  had  little  patience  with  the  position  of 
organized  labor.  An  editorial  in  one  of  the  leading 
American  newspapers  tersely  expressed  the  senti- 
ments  of  the   friends   of  preparedness.    "Labor's 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    223 

scheme  of  an  internationalism  along  class  lines  and 
of  conflict  and  competition  by  classes  instead  of  by 
nations  is  a  foolish  piece  of  sedition."  "  But  when 
the  war  clouds  gathered,  the  unionists  of  the  nation 
asserted  that  they  would  loyally  support  the  gov- 
ernment. 

But  American  workingmen  insist,  and  with  rea- 
son, that  the  peace  standards  in  regard  to  hours  of 
labor  and  other  conditions  of  labor  shall  not  be  cast 
aside  under  stress  of  military  necessity.  The  ex- 
perience of  England  in  the  early  period  of  the  war 
shows  clearly  that  the  efficiency  of  workers  de- 
creases when  subjected  to  the  strain  of  overtime, 
Sunday  work  and  excessive  speed.  The  American 
Association  for  Labor  Legislation  and  the  National 
Consumers'  League  also  opposed  efforts  to  emascu- 
late protective  laws  which  were  on  the  statute  books 
of  American  states  at  the  opening  of  the  war.  La- 
bor, along  with  many  other  groups,  also  demanded 
that  the  burdens  of  war  rest  upon  all  classes  of 
the  nation,  and  that  no  economic  class  be  permitted 
to  garner  extraordinary  profits  because  of  war. 
An  editorial  in  the  official  journal  of  the  mine 
workers  clearly  explains  the  view  of  the  wage  work" 
ers.  "Labor  in  the  United  States,  as  in  every  part 
of  the  world,  stands  ready  to  do  its  full  share  in 
the  service  of  the  country  in  her  hour  of  stress,  but 
assurance  in  advance  that  in  this  war  all  will  be 

^^  The  Chicago  Tribune,  June  30,  1916. 


224  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

called  upon  alike  to  sacrifice  according  to  their 
means  and  their  needs,  that  no  economic  class  will 
be  permitted  to  secure  an  advantage  that  will  tend 
to  destroy  or  deter  the  observance  of  the  rights 
of  others  will  go  far  to  bring  about  that  full  co- 
operation that  the  present  emergency  demands."  ^* 

One  of  the  most  significant  expressions  of  inter- 
nationalism on  the  part  of  organized  labor  in  Amer- 
ica is  to  be  found  in  the  labor  conference  between 
representatives  of  organized  labor  in  Mexico  and 
the  United  States,  held  at  Washington  in  July,  191 6. 
The  purpose  of  this  conference  was  primarily  to 
avoid  war  between  the  two  countries  represented; 
and  it  seems  to  have  aided  materially  in  removing 
certain  sources  of  irritation.  The  workers  in  both 
countries  were  urged  to  "do  everything  in  their 
power  to  promote  correct  understanding  of  pur- 
poses and  actions,  to  prevent  friction,  to  encourage 
good  will,  and  to  promote  an  intelligent  national 
opinion  that  ultimately  shall  direct  relations  be- 
tween our  countries  and  shall  be  a  potent  humani- 
tarian force  in  promoting  world  progress."  The 
members  of  the  conference  also  expressed  them- 
selves as  heartily  in  favor  of  a  pan- American  fed- 
eration of  labor  which  should  include  the  United 
States,  Mexico,  and  Central  and  South  American 
countries.  Mr.  Gompers  declared :  "A  pan- Amer- 
ican federation  of  labor  is  not  only  possible  but 
necessary."    These  steps  on  the  part  of  organized 

"  United  Mine  Workers'  Journal,  April  19,  1917. 


IDEALS  OF  THE  WAGE  EARNER    225 

labor  indicate  a  firm  determination  to  give  prac- 
tical effect  to  certain  fundamental  ideals  of  the 
wage  workers  of  the  world.  The  President  of  the 
Laborers'  Friendly  Society  of  Japan  was  present 
at  the  19 16  convention  of  the  American  Federation. 
An  invitation  was  extended  to  send  delegates  to 
Japan  in  the  spring  of  19 17  to  attend  the  fifth  an- 
niversary of  the  Japanese  organization.  This  epi- 
sode has  been  heralded  as  an  attempt  "to  bridge  the 
Pacific." 

Organized  labor  in  the  United  States  is  favorable 
to  the  adoption  of  a  policy  by  this  nation  looking 
toward  some  form  of  world  federation  in  order  to 
secure,  if  possible,  a  lasting  peace  among  the  na- 
tions of  the  world.  In  November,  191 7,  the  Con- 
vention of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  unani- 
mously declared  in  favor  of:  "The  combination 
of  the  free  peoples  of  the  world  in  a  common  cove- 
nant for  genuine  and  practical  cooperation  to  se- 
cure justice  and  therefore  peace  in  relations  be- 
tween nations." 


CHAPTER  X 
RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES 

A  great  war  inevitably  causes  important  social 
and  political  changes.  Since  August,  19 14,  and 
more  particularly  since  April  6,  19 17,  affairs  have 
moved  rapidly  in  the  United  States.  Now  that  the 
War  is  ended  Americans  will  doubtless  find  that  the 
*'old  order"  has  been  greatly  modified;  and  modi- 
fied, let  us  hope,  for  the  better — but  not  trans- 
muted into  a  new  order  without  close  relationships 
to  the  pre-war  era.  To  attempt  in  the  year  19 19 
to  chart  the  trend  of  events  in  regard  to  organized 
labor  in  America  is  not  easy,  and  the  likelihood  of 
error  is  considerable.  Before  the  War  opened  cer- 
tain tendencies  in  the  sphere  of  organized  labor 
were  being  disclosed.  It  seems  logical  and  his- 
torically sound  to  anticipate  that  many  of  these 
tendencies  may  be  greatly  accelerated  but  not 
skewed  beyond  recognition  by  the  War.  If,  how- 
ever, this  conclusion  proves  to  be  unsound,  if  the 
post-war  world  proves  to  be,  as  certain  individuals 
fondly  and  naively  imagine,  an  entirely  new  world 
purged  of  the  dross  and  selfishness  of  the  pre-war 
era  and  chastened  by  suffering  and  sorrow,  if  class 

226 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     227 

and  interest  demarcations  are  practically  erased 
after  the  War,  this  chapter  has  been  written  from 
an  erroneous  point  of  view. 

In  the  field  of  labor  organizations  during  recent 
years  two  probable  lines  of  progress  or  change 
stand  out  prominently.  Which  is  to  be  the  pre- 
dominant form  of  labor  organization  in  the  near 
future,  the  trade  or  craft  type  or  the  industrial  type 
of  union?  And  will  labor  organizations  of  the  next 
decade  or  two  stress  political  or  industrial  action? 
Upon  the  answer  which  time  brings  to  these  two 
questions  depend  in  no  small  measure  the  strength, 
the  success  and  the  potency  for  good  or  evil  of 
the  American  labor  movement  in  the  immediate 
future.  In  this  chapter,  consideration  will  be  given 
to  the  tendencies  which  are  making  for  and  against 
industrial  unionism,  and  for  and  against  political 
action. 

The  spectacular  and  noisy  always  attract  atten- 
tion and  are  given  space  in  the  newspapers  and 
popular  magazines,  while  the  more  powerful  and 
silent  forces  are  often  overlooked  or  underempha- 
sized.  As  a  consequence,  the  average  American 
has  been  led  to  believe  that  the  labor  organization, 
which  is  soon  to  become  most  powerful  in  the 
United  States,  is  the  aggressive  and  blatant  Indus- 
trial Workers  of  the  World.  That  the  more  con- 
servative, stable  and  potent  group  of  unions  affili- 
ated together  in  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
has  been  growing  steadily,  and,  what  is  even  of 


228  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

greater  import,  changing  many  of  their  pohcies, 
has  escaped  the  notice  of  the  great  mass  of  fairly 
well  informed  Americans.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  American  Federation  is  undergoing  revolution- 
ary changes  in  a  quiet  and  unostentatious  fashion, 
— changes  which  are  transforming  the  nature  and 
policies  of  this  the  greatest  of  American  labor  or- 
ganizations. The  future  of  American  unionisna  can 
best  be  discerned  by  studying  this  organization  and 
its  affiliated  unions. 

The  phenomenon  of  syndicalism  or  I.  W.  W.-ism 
in  the  West  and  Middle  West,  however,  must  not 
be  neglected.  The  existence  of  over  a  half  a 
million  discontented  and  distrustful  wage  workers, 
many  of  whom  are  migratory  and  homeless,  presents 
a  social  and  industrial  problem  of  great  importance. 
Unless  our  governmental  authorities  treat  these  men 
in  a  sympathetic  manner  and  attempt  to  dig  down 
to  the  causes  of  unrest  and  abnormality,  the  United 
States  may  soon  face  serious  internal  dissensions; 
and  unless  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  form- 
ulates definite  and  intelligent  plans  for  organizing 
and  aiding  these  neglected  workers,  its  future  prog- 
ress may  suffer  serious  retardation.  In  the  judg- 
ment of  the  writer,  recent  tendencies  within  the  Fed- 
eration may  soon  make  possible  an  approach  between 
old-line  unionism  and  the  more  conservative  ele- 
ments of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World. 
Testimony  has  indeed  been  offered  to  the  effect  that 
a   considerable  number  of   western  workers   hold 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     229 

cards  in  a  regular  union  in  the  American  Federa- 
tion and  also  in  the  Industrial  Workers. 

Colonel  Bisque's  experience  with  the  lumberjacks 
of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  many  of  whom  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World,  indi- 
cates that  these  workers  will  respond  to  fair  treat- 
ment and  square  dealing.  The  failure  of  the  aver- 
age citizen,  of  the  great  mass  of  employers,  and 
even  of  social  workers  and  students  of  economic 
and  political  affairs,  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the 
radical  labor  movement  cannot  be  suppressed  or 
made  conservative  by  means  of  palliative  or  repress 
sive  measures,  is  one  of  the  dangers  to  be  discerned 
in  the  present  trend  of  events.  The  late  Professor 
Parker,  a  most  discerning  student  of  the  Western 
labor  situation,  pointed  out  "that  ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  migratory  workers,  the  vagrants,  the  casuals, 
the  hobos,  the  hunted  men  who  harvest  the  crops, 
muck  the  ores  out  of  mines,  fell  the  spruce  for  air- 
planes and  the  great  Douglass  firs  for  ship  timbers, 
are  womanless,  jobless,  voteless  men,  that  because 
of  the  unstable  industrial  life  to  which  our  diseased 
industrialism  has  consigned  them,  they  have  lost 
the  conventional  relationship  to  woman  and  child 
life,  lost  their  voting  franchise,  lost  the  habit  of 
common  comfort  and  dignity,  and  have  gradually 
become  a  caste-conscious  group  with  fewer  legal 
and  social  rights  than  are  conventionally  ascribed 
to  Americans."  ^  This  statement  pictures  a  situa- 
*Bruere,  The  New  Republic,  May  18,  1918,  p.  83. 


230  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

tion  full  of  social  dynamite  both  for  organized  gov- 
ernment and  for  the  type  of  labor  organizations  now 
affiliated  in  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. 

The  Federation  was  organized  as  a  weak  federa- 
tion of  trade  or  craft  unions.  Its  average  paid-up 
membership,  that  is,  the  paid-up  membership  of  its 
affiliated  unions,  increased  slowly  up  to  1898,  in 
which  year  it  was  reported  to  be  278,016.  The  next 
six  years  constituted  a  period  of  extraordinary 
growth.  In  1904,  the  paid-up  membership  was  re- 
ported to  be  1,676,200;  that  is,  in  the  shorty  space 
of  six  years  the  membership  was  increased  sixfold. 
But  not  again  until  191 1  did  the  membership  attain 
the  high-water  mark  of  1904.  In  the  former  year 
the  membership  was  1,761,835.  The  year  1913  re- 
corded a  new  high-water  mark ;  the  average  paid-up 
membership  was  1,996,004.  In  19 14,  the  member- 
ship passed  the  two  million  mark;  but  in  the  next 
year  it  was  reduced  to  1,946,347.  In  1916,  the  two- 
million  mark  was  again  passed;  in  191 7,  the  re- 
ported membership  was  2,371,434;  and  it  was  in- 
creased to  3,250,000  in  19 19.  The  actual  member* 
ship  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  is  consid- 
erably greater  than  the  reports  indicate.  The  affiliated 
unions  pay  a  tax  to  the  Federation  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  members  reported.  But  some  of  the 
locals  are  tax  dodgers;  and  members  on  a  strike  do 
not  as  a  rule  pay  dues.  In  June,  19 19,  nearly  all  of 
the  important  labor  unions  except  the  Industrial 
Workers  of  the  World,  certain  railway  brother- 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES    231 

hoods,  and  a  seceding  branch  of  clothing  workers 
were  affiHated  in  the  Federation.  The  total  mem- 
bership of  all  American  unions  not  affiliated  with 
the  latter  is  probably  not  over  600,000.^ 

But  more  significant  than  the  gain  in  membership 
are  certain  modifications  going  on  inside  of  the 
Federation.  Originally,  and  indeed  until  recently, 
it  has  stood  for  a  narrow  trade  group  ideal.  Em- 
phasis has  been  placed  upon  the  skilled;  the  un- 
skilled worker  was  overlooked.  The  trade  or  craft, 
not  the  industry  as  a  whole,  was  the  significant  fact. 
The  American  Federation  of  Labor  has  been  merely 
a  loose  grouping  of  compact  and  practically  self- 
governing  national  unions,  such  as  the  Typographi- 
cal Union  and  the  Cigarmakers'  Union.  Affiliated 
unions  were  in  a  large  measure  independent  of  each 
other  in  vital  matters  connected  with  trade  union  ac- 
tion. One  union  affiliated  in  the  Federation  might 
strike  and  other  workers,  members  of  other  affili- 
ated unions,  continue  at  work  in  the  same  establish- 
ment. A  strike  of  machinists  in  a  plant  might  oc- 
cur and  the  union  molders  remain  at  work.  Such 
a  situation  may  indeed  arise  to-day ;  but  organized 
labor  is  beginning  to  question  the  wisdom  of  the 
isolated  craft  policy. 

The  American  Federation  has  fostered  group  loy- 
alty. It  has  exalted  practical,  immediate  and  trade 
or  craft  ends.      But  twentieth   century   industrial 

^  See  Carlton,  "The  Changing  American  Federation  of 
Labor,"  The  Survey,  Nov.  21,  1914. 


232  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

methods  are  rapidly  and  ruthlessly  destroying  the 
potency  and  significance  of  the  craft  as  a  fundamen- 
tal unit  in  industry,  and  also  are  surely  undermining 
the  strength  of  the  old-line  isolated  and  self-suffi- 
cient trade  or  craft  unions.  The  organized  opposi- 
tion of  consolidated  capital  weakened  many  strong 
and  reasonably  conservative  labor  organizations 
such  as  the  Iron,  Steel  and  Tin  Workers'  Amal- 
gamated Association,  the  Lake  Seamen's  Union, 
and  the  International  Brotherhood  of  Teamsters. 
The  latter  union  which  now  includes  chauffeurs  has 
recently  increased  in  membership.  Outside  the 
building  trades,  the  railway  brotherhoods  and  a  few 
unions  composed  chiefly  of  highly  skilled  men,  the 
old-line  trade  unions  had  been  fighting,  up  to  our 
entrance  into  the  World  War,  a  losing  battle  when 
confronted  by  integrated  capital.  If,  however,  after 
the  War  is  ended,  the  steady  pressure  against  union- 
ism, the  persecution  of  labor  leaders,  the  deporta- 
tion of  workers  and  the  attempts  to  attack  the  unions 
in  the  courts  again  become  features  of  the  policy  of 
associations  of  employers ;  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor  will  be  obliged  to  adopt  a  radical  program 
or  suffer  disintegration.  If  disintegration  occurs, 
the  ultra-radical  unionist  will  inevitably  forge  to 
the  front.  And  in  that  case  the  nation  may  be 
brought  face  to  face  with  a  cataclysm.  A  wide- 
spread and  determined  attack  on  unionism  will 
transmute  it  into  "a.  class-conscious  revolutionary 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     233 

movement."  ^  In  short,  an  active  policy  of  union- 
smasliing  will  drive  the  conservative  and  bargain- 
ing unions  to  adopt  many  of  the  policies  now  advo- 
cated and  too  often  carried  out  by  the  Industrial 
Workers  of  the  World. 

The  trust,  wide  scale  business  and  exclusive  oc- 
cupation of  the  field  are  now  familiar  terms;  but 
their  concomitant  phenomena,  industrial  unionism 
and  direct  action,  among  the  wage  workers  are  just 
rising  above  the  mental  horizon  of  the  average 
American  citizen.  Industrial  integration,  the  amal- 
gamation of  various  industries  under  one  control 
as  in  the  case  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corpora- 
tion, is  the  aim  of  the  great  captains  of  industry. 
Consequently,  mass  or  industrial  unionism,  repre- 
senting a  similar  grouping  of  interests  among  wage 
earners,  is  the  insistent  demand  of  increasing  num- 
bers of  aggressive  workingmen.  The  old  forms  of 
trade  and  craft  unionism  are  on  the  decline  or  are 
assuming  forms  not  consonant  with  orthodox  trade 
union  organizations. 

To-day,  the  interests  of  the  blacksmilhs,  the  ma- 
chinists and  the  painters  employed  by  a  great  rail- 
way system  are,  in  reality,  not  very  dissimilar.  The 
machinists  alone,  although  aided  by  fellow  unionists 
in  manufacturing  plants  and  other  establishments, 
are  not  in  a  strategic  position  in  bargaining  with  the 
railway  company  or  in  engineering  a  strike.     They 

'  See  Hoxie,  Trade  Unionism  in  the  United  States, 
p.  186. 


234  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

are  strong-  when  their  fellow  workers  for  the  com- 
pany, skilled  and  unskilled,  stand  shoulder  to  shoul- 
der with  them.  The  employees  of  great  trusts  and 
of  large  interstate  railway  systems  are  rapidly  learn- 
ing that  cooperation  is  a  powerful  weapon.  United, 
they  are  strong;  divided  along  craft  lines,  they  are 
in  imminent  -danger  of  witnessing  the  piece-meal 
destruction  of  their  craft  organization.  For  one 
group  of  employees  of  a  large  corporation  to  remain 
at  work  while  another  is  striking  was  coming  at  the 
close  of  the  pre-war  period  to  be  recognized,  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  unionist,  as  an  extremely 
shortsighted  method  of  procedure. 

The  future  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor, 
formed  as  a  weapon  of  affiliated  trade  unions,  de- 
pends upon  its  ability  to  adjust  itself  to  a  situation 
which  demands  the  partial  erasure  of  craft  demar- 
cations in  labor  organizations,  a  situation  which  de- 
mands some  form  of  industrial  unionism  or  at  least 
amalgamation  rather  than  craft  unionism  of  the  old- 
line  type.  Industrial  evolution  is  developing  large 
scale  centralized  industry.  Can  the  American  Fed- 
eration cast  aside  its  original  ideals,  and  cut  across 
trade  lines?  Can  it  make  the  form  of  organization 
of  its  affiliated  bodies  square  with  modern  indus- 
trial organization?  Can  it  become  a  Federation  of 
Industrial  unions  or  of  amalgamated  organizations? 
What  are  the  tendencies  which  recent  years  dis- 
close ?  Upon  the  answers  to  these  questions  depend 
the  future  of  the  Federation  and,  in  a  large  meas- 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     235 

ure,  also  of  organized  labor  in  the  United  States. 
The  form  of  organization  is,  indeed,  no  minor  mat- 
ter. The  trade  or  craft  union  is  an  antiquated 
weapon  in  the  fight  against  strong  employers  and 
employers'  associations  unless  the  skill  of  the  trade 
is  still  a  potent  factor,  or  some  other  special  place 
of  vantage  remains.  To  meet  the  mighty  German 
army  with  the  weapons  of  the  Civil  War  or  of  the 
Spanish-American  War  spells  speedy  and  ignomin- 
ious defeat.  To  combat  for  higher  wages  and  short- 
er hours  with  the  methods  of  1866  likewise  means 
defeat  for  organized  labor.* 

The  Federation  in  its  convention  held  in  19 12, 
voted  down  a  resolution  by  approximately  a  two  to 
one  vote  to  the  effect  "that,  where  practical,  one 
organization  should  have  jurisdiction  over  an  in- 
dustry." The  autonomy  declaration  passed  in  1901 
was  reaffirmed.  But  the  Executive  Committee  in 
its  report  very  carefully  pointed  out  that  autonomy 
did  not  mean  opposition  to  the  amalgamation  of  al- 
lied or  subdivided  crafts.  The  opposition  to  indus- 
trial unionism  is,  indeed,  much  more  apparent  than 
actual.  Industrial  unionism  is  a  tabooed  term  in 
the  American  Federation  because  it  smacks  too 
much  of  socialism  and  syndicalism ;  but  amalgama- 
tion is  in  good  standing.  In  an  era  of  large  scale 
production  and  of  machinery,  amalgamation  and  in- 
dustrial unionism  need  not  necessarily  be  on  antago- 

*  Carlton,  "Essentials  in  the  Study  of  Labor  Organiza- 
tions," The  Scientific  Monthly,  August,  1916. 


236  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

nistic  terms.  On  the  other  hand,  an  amalgamation 
of  allied  crafts  may  be  interpreted  as  a  broadening 
©f  the  trade  or  craft  basis  of  organization.  It  indi- 
cates the  continuance  of  a  smaller  number  of  trade 
or  craft  unions,  each  covering  a  wide  field.  Amal- 
gamation may  delay  rather  than  hasten  the  move- 
ment toward  industrial  unionism.  Both  amalgama- 
tion and  industrial  unionism  now  exist  side  by  side 
within  the  American  Federation  of  Labor.  The 
Federation,  declared  its  Executive  Committee  in 
191 2,  "repudiates  the  insinuation  which  is  implied 
by  the  term  'Industrial  Unionism'  as  it  is  employed 
by  the  so-called  'Industrial  Workers  of  the  World' 
in  antagonism  to  'Trade  Unionism,'  for  in  that  im- 
plication the  false  impression  is  conveyed  that  trade 
unions  are  rigid,  unyielding,  or  do  not  adjust  them- 
selves to  new  conditions,"  and  expand.  The  Amer- 
ican Federation  may  be  moving  toward  industrial 
unionism,  but  it  flatly  refuses  to  accept  the  term 
used  by  a  radical  and  hated  rival  organization.  In 
1913  and  in  191 5,  the  policy  reaffirmed  in  1912  was 
again  acted  upon  favorably. 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor  is  a  big  in- 
stitution and,  consequently,  afifected  by  institutional 
lag  or  inertia.  Changes  in  policies  and  ideals  of 
necessity  come  slowly.  Many  of  the  leaders  in  the 
organization  have  been  such  for  the  greater  part  of 
its  career.  They  cannot  be  expected  hastily  and 
joyfully  to  repudiate  their  past  actions.  It  is  to  be 
anticipated  that  they  will  insistently  cling  to  terms 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     237 

and  phrases  long  after  their  original  significance 
has  vanished.  But  that  the  process  of  amalgama- 
tion plus  the  destruction  of  many  forms  of  skill 
may  eventually  lead  to  some  form  of  industrial 
unionism  seems  to  be  recognized  by  members  of  the 
Federation. 

That  trade  lines  are  actually  being  erased  and 
that  the  importance  of  skill  is  being  reduced  may 
also  be  shown  by  a  number  of  recent  changes  within 
the  American  Federation.  The  efiFect  of  the  unifica- 
tion of  control  in  industry  was  early  felt  by  the 
brewery  workers  and  the  mine  workers.  The  indus- 
trial form  of  labor  organization  has  been  definitely 
carried  into  effect  in  the  two  industries.  The  United 
Brewery  Workers,  the  United  Mine  Workers  and 
the  International  Union  of  Mine,  Mill  and  Smelter 
Workers,  formerly  the  Western  Federation  of  Min- 
ers, are  industrial  unions.  The  United  Mine  Work- 
ers have  jurisdiction  over  nearly  all  workers  work- 
ing in  and  around  coal  mines.  For  example,  the 
carpenters  working  regularly  for  the  mine  operators 
are  expected  to  join  the  United  Mine  Workers. 
The  Union  of  Mine,  Mill  and  Smelter  Workers  in- 
sists rpon  similar  rights  in  and  around  metal  mines ; 
and  the  Brewery  Workers  organize  all  working  in 
and  around  breweries.  The  brewery  teamsters  are 
affiliated  with  the  brewery  workers  rather  than  with 
the  teamsters'  union.  And  one  of  these  organiza- 
tions of  the  industrial  type,  the  United  Mine  Work- 
ers, is  the  largest  national  union  affiliated  in  the 


238  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

American  Federation.  In  the  19 16  convention  of 
the  Federation  the  delegates  representing  the  United 
Mine  Workers  cast  3,180  votes  out  of  a  total  of 
20,973  cast  by  the  delegates  of  the  affiliated  national 
unions,  or  nearly  one  in  every  six. 

The  organization  of  departments  for  the  purpose 
of  reducing  jurisdictional  struggles  and  bringing 
about  harmonious  relations  between  allied  labor  or- 
ganizations, is  likewise  symptomatic.  The  five  de- 
partments are :  ( i )  Mining,  in  which  are  united  the 
United  Mine  Workers,  the  Union  of  Mine,  Mill  and 
Smelter  Workers,  the  Amalgamated  Association 
of  Iron,  Tin  and  Steel  Workers,  and  the  Associated 
Union  of  Steam  Shovelers;  (2)  the  building  trades; 
(3)  railway  employees;  (4)  the  metal  trades;  and 
(5)  union  label  trades.  In  the  railway  employees' 
department  the  railway  shop  crafts  are  united.  The 
aim  of  this  department  is  to  prevent  single  craft 
struggles  with  railway  companies  for  higher  wages 
and  better  working  conditions.  In  19 13,  the  Secre- 
tary-Treasurer of  the  department  reported  that 
"thirty-five  railway  systems  have  granted  federated 
agreements  to  the  shop  crafts."  The  federation  of 
these  shop  crafts  is  certainly  a  long  step  toward 
industrial  unionism  in  the  railway  industry ;  and  the 
goal  in  view  is  a  federation  not  merely  of  the  rail- 
way shop  men  but  of  all  railway  employees.  The 
effect  that  this  strengthening  of  the  federation  of 
railway  employees  will  have  upon  the  relations 
which  the  machinists  or  the  blacksmiths,   for  ex- 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     239 

ample,  employed  by  the  railway  company,  sustain 
to  the  national  union  of  machinists  or  of  black- 
smiths, is  still  uncertain;  but  the  growth  of  a  strong 
and  powerful  federation  of  railway  employees  will 
tend  to  make  the  latter  more  loyal  to  the  federation 
than  to  their  national  union.  However,  the  inter- 
ests of  the  federation  and  of  the  national  union  need 
not  necessarily  be  antagonistic. 

At  the  convention  of  the  Metal  Trades'  Depart- 
ment of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  held  in 
1913,  including  twelve  national  unions,  the  regula- 
tions in  regard  to  strikes  were  changed  so  as  to  pro- 
vide for  united  action  on  the  part  of  all  organiza- 
tions connected  with  the  department.  One  group 
of  workers,  affiliated  with  the  department,  can  no 
longer  remain  at  work  in  a  shop  in  case  a  strike  is 
legally  called  after  a  referendum  in  that  shop.  An 
editorial  in  the  Machinists'  Monthly  Journal  ex- 
presses the  new  ideal  of  unionism.  "The  single 
craft  organization  of  the  old  trade  unionism  was 
suitable  to  the  times  that  brought  it  into  existence 
and  rendered  excellent  service  to  the  workers  that 
formed  it,  but  it  must  now  give  place  to  the  new  or- 
ganization built  upon  industrial  lines.  The  old  craft 
organizations  must  grow  and  expand  until  they  em- 
brace all  workers  in  the  industry  of  which  these 
crafts  are  each  a  unit.  .  .  .  All  the  metal  trades 
must  get  together,  and  act  together  as  a  unit,  when- 
ever the  occasion  demands  it,  because  it  is  only  in 
this  way  that  modern  conditions  can  be  coped  with." 


240  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

However,  an  attempt  made  in  191 5  to  amalgamate 
the  metal  trades  met  with  determined  opposition. 
The  molders  voted  against  amalgamation  by  a  vote 
of  over  five  to  two. 

The  United  Brotherhood  of  Carpenters  and  Join- 
ers has  recently  absorbed  the  Amalgamated  Wood 
Workers'  Association  which  was  composed  of  ma- 
chine wood  workers  and  furniture  workers.  Ar- 
rangements are  also  being  made  to  include  the  men 
in  other  wood-working  industries.  General  Secre- 
tary Duffy  writes :  "We  look  forward  with  pleasur- 
able anticipations  to  the  day  when  it  can  be  truly 
said  that  all  men  of  the  wood-working  craft  on  this 
continent  hold  allegiance  to  the  United  Brotherhood 
of  Carpenters  and  Joiners  of  America."  This  am- 
bitious program  obviously  runs  counter  to  the  policy 
sanctioned  by  the  American  Federation  in  granting 
to  the  United  Mine  Workers  jurisdiction  over  car- 
penters regularly  employed  in  and  around  coal 
mines.  However,  since  both  organizations  are  affi- 
liated in  the  Federation,  a  compromise  advanta- 
geous to  both  unions  does  not  seem  difficult  of  attain- 
ment. A  carpenter  belonging  to  the  union  might 
easily  pass  from  the  employ  of  a  mining  company 
to  that  of  a  contracting  firm.  While  working  for 
the  mining  company  he  might  also  become  a  mem- 
ber of  the  United  Mine  Workers.  In  case  of  a 
strike  in  the  mine,  the  carpenters  would  go  out; 
and,  of  course,  no  union  carpenter  would  be  allowed 
to  take  the  place  of  his  fellow  unionists,  these  be- 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     241 

ing  unionists  in  a  double  capacity — union  carpenters 
and  union  mine  workers. 

In  19 12,  the  Western  Federation  of  Miners  and 
the  International  Brotherhood  of  Blacksmiths  and 
Helpers  reached  an  agreement  of  this  sort.  Pro- 
visions were  made  for  an  interchange  of  union 
cards.  A  blacksmith  or  helper  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Western  Federation  securing  employ- 
ment under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Brotherhood 
will,  without  payment  of  another  initiation  fee,  be 
accepted  as  a  member  of  the  local  in  that  place  on 
depositing  his  Western  Federation  card.  And  the 
Western  Federation  agreed  to  accept  a  member  of 
the  Brotherhood  under  similar  circumstances. 
"Trade  autonomy  and  industrial  autonomy  are  es- 
sentially antagonistic;  but  industrial  unionism  and 
trade  unionism  are  not  necessarily  antagonistic  to 
each  other.  Industrial  and  trade  unions  might  exist 
side  by  side,  and  for  complete  and  effective  organ- 
ization both  seem  to  be  necessary."  * 

A  very  interesting  evolution  has  been  taking  place 
among  various  classes  of  workers  in  the  lumbering 
industry.  About  fifteen  years  ago  the  shingle  weav- 
ers formed  an  international  union.  The  member- 
ship was  limited  "to  the  men  employed  in  skilled 
departments  of  the  shingle  trade,"  Recently  these 
workers  have  recognized  that  a  more  inclusive  or- 
ganization was  essential  to  their  welfare.    In  19 12, 

'Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organised  Labor, 
p.  470. 


242  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

the  American  Federation  of  Labor  approved  a  plan 
for  the  organization  of  all  workers,  skilled  and  un- 
skilled, employed  in  the  lumber  industry;  and  the 
organization  was  named  the  Timber  Workers'  In- 
ternational Union.  The  voting  strength  of  the  lat- 
ter organization  in  the  1913  convention  of  the 
American  Federation  was  double  that  allowed  in  the 
1912  convention.  In  the  convention  of  1915,  how- 
ever, the  voting  strength  was  much  less  than  in 
1912.  In  the  Report  of  the  1916  convention  the 
organization  was  apparently  again  called  the  Shin- 
gle Weavers.  No  delegate  was  sent  to  the  conven- 
tion, and  the  voting  strength  was  reduced  below 
that  allowed  in  the  convention  of  19 15.  One  dele- 
gate was  sent  in  1917;  and  a  new  union  of  timber 
workers  was  organized.  In  spite  of  this  experience, 
a  statement  made  a  few  years  ago  by  the  president 
of  this  national  union  is  interesting.  It  shows 
clearly  why  the  movement  toward  amalgamation, 
federation  and  industrial  unionism  is  taking  place. 
The  skilled  are  not  moved  primarily  by  altruistic 
motives;  it  is  a  selfish,  but  shrewd,  movement  on 
the  part  of  the  skilled.  "Experience  has  shown  that 
while  a  large  percentage  of  the  skilled  men  could 
protect  their  interests  by  organization  on  even  so 
small  a  scale  as  this  ten  years  ago,  now  a  change 
has  occurred.  To  meet  this  change  the  source  of 
the  workers'  power  has  also  had  to  change.  It  is 
no  longer  the  worker's  skill  that  is  the  chief  ele- 
ment of  strength.     The  leveling  processes  of  ma- 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES      243 

chinery  have  made  human  skill  less  and  less  a  fac- 
tor, have  caused  the  worker  to  realize  that  now  he 
must  rely  chiefly  upon  strength  of  numbers.  So 
the  members  of  the  shingle  weavers'  union  learned 
that  they  must  expand  in  order  that  they  might  meet 
the  changes  in  the  lumber  industry." 

The  order  of  railway  telegraphers  includes  "tel- 
ephone operators,  staffmen,  station  agents,  linemen, 
interlockers,  train  dispatchers,  line  repairers,  and 
train  directors."  The  numerous  jurisdictional  dis- 
putes among  different  pipe  trades  has  led  to  the 
amalgamation  of  all  workers  in  the  pipe  trades  into 
"one  great  union," — the  United  Association  of  Jour- 
neymen Plumbers,  Gasfitters,  Steamfitters,  and 
Steamfitters'  Helpers.  The  Granite  Cutters  include 
in  their  union  the  polishers,  rubbers,  sawyers  and 
the  tool  sharpeners.  In  19 15,  the  Glass  Workers* 
International  Association  amalgamated  with  the 
painters,  decorators  and  paperhangers. 

The  development  of  machinery  in  the  glass  trades 
precipitated  a  jurisdictional  dispute  between  the 
Flint  Glass  Workers  and  the  Machinists.  Both  as- 
serted jurisdiction  over  the  men  making  molds  for 
molding  glassware ;  the  matter  was  considered  again 
by  the  convention  of  19 17.  In  the  1913  convention 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  a  delegate 
from  the  machinists'  union  declared  that  the  evolu- 
tion of  machinery  in  various  industries  was  placing" 
the  machinists  in  a  very  delicate  position.  Another 
delegate   declared   that   in   the   glass-bottle-making 


244  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

trades  to-day  the  machinist  is  as  much  a  factor  as 
the  bottle  blower.  Apparently  the  machinists  must 
do  as  did  the  carpenters,  who  when  confrc«ited  by 
the  development  of  machinery  in  the  wood-working 
trades  insisted  upon  controlling  all  wood  workers; 
or  they  must  suffer  disintegration  in  favor  of 
another  organization.  In  either  case,  further  amal- 
gamation of  one  form  or  another  seems  inevitable. 
The  teamsters  are  struggling  for  their  existence  as 
a  separate  organization.  Recently,  they  have  en- 
gaged in  jurisdictional  struggles  with  the  bakers, 
the  brewery  workers  and  the  newspaper  and  mail 
deliverers.  The  American  Federation  decided  in 
favor  of  the  brewery  workers;  drivers  of  brewery 
wagons  are  to  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  brew- 
ery workmen. 

In  nearly  all  of  the  national  unions  affiliated  in 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  the  national 
body  has  been  gaining  at  the  expense  of  the  au- 
tonomy of  the  locals.  In  England  an  interesting 
counter  movement  has  appeared  and  we  may  rea^ 
sonably  anticipate  something  of  the  same  nature  in 
the  United  States.  The  shop  stewards'  movement 
is  a  plan  for  unifying  all  workers  in  one  establish- 
ment so  that  they  may  act  together  upon  local  is- 
sues. Workers  in  the  same  shop  belonging  to  dif- 
ferent trade  unions  are  knit  together  in  a  shop  fed- 
eration. Such  a  movement  inevitably  leads  to  situa- 
tions in  which  it  runs  com  er  to  a  national  union 
which  is  highly  centralized  and  which  has  members 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     245 

in  the  shop  stewards*  system.  This  movement 
makes  for  decentralized  and  amalgamated  govern- 
ment rather  than  for  centralized  and  trade  control. 
Such  a  plan  represents  a  step  toward  industrial 
unionism  or  toward  national  guilds  without  repudi- 
ating trade  unionism.  It  might,  however,  hasten 
the  amalgamation  of  national  unions;  and  in  this 
way  centralized  control  might  be  retained. 

The  solicitude  recently  manifested  for  the  mi- 
gratory worker  is  in  marked  contrast  to  the  earlier 
ideals  of  trade  unionism.  The  1912  convention  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor  passed  a  resolu- 
tion favoring  the  organization  of  the  "migratory 
workers."  In  1913,  another  resolution  w'as  adopted 
providing  for  a  definite  and  comprehensive  plan  of 
organization  for  migratory  workers,  and  for  aiding 
in  dovetailing  industries  in  which  such  workers  are 
utilized.  It  was  urged  that  all  unions  should  aid  in 
"spreading  the  gospel  of  unionism  among  the  un- 
skilled and  unorganized  workers."  The  matter  was 
again  considered  in  1915  and  1916.  In  1910,  the 
executive  council  of  the  Federation  passed  a  resolu- 
tion inviting  Negroes  into  its  ranks.  The  191 7  con- 
vention adopted  a  resolution  urging  a  more  com- 
prehensive campaign  among  the  Negroes  and  among 
the  Mexican  workers  within  the  borders  of  the 
United  States.  Recently  the  American  Federation 
is  manifesting  unusual  interest  in  organizing  women 
workers.     All  of   which  indicates   that   organized 


246  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

trade  unions  have  seen  new  visions  and  are  preach- 
ing a  new  gospel  of  unionism. 

Up  to  the  present  time,  organizations  of  unskilled 
workers  have  as  a  rule  been  unsuccessful.  The 
places  occupied  by  the  unskilled  can  be  filled  very 
easily,  and  few  of  them  are  organized.  But,  as  has 
been  pointed  out,  the  introduction  of  machinery  is 
gradually  displacing  the  skilled  man  in  many  lines 
of  work.  The  effect  of  the  introduction  of  scien- 
tific management  will  be  to  narrow  further  the  work 
of  each  worker,  thus  tending  to  make  "any  man 
who  walks  the  street"  the  competitor  of  the  man 
with  a  job.  The  aim  of  scientific  management  seems 
to  be  to  reduce  all  occupations  to  the  grade  of  un- 
skilled or  semiskilled  work.  The  ease  with  which 
machine  tending  can  be  learned  makes  every  unem- 
ployed person  a  very  dangerous  competitor.  In 
many  big  industries,  the  skilled  have  lost  their  old 
and  familiar  position  of  superiority.  The  skill  of 
the  skilled  is  in  danger  of  becoming  of  less  im- 
portance than  the  method  of  directing  and  coordi- 
nating the  members  of  gangs  of  unskilled. 

The  enlargement  of  the  market  area,  the  stand- 
ardization of  products,  the  striving  after  quantity, 
the  growing  use  of  automatic  and  semiautomatic 
machinery,  and  the  progress  of  scientific  manage- 
ment tend  to  undermine  the  skilled  and  to  reduce 
all  workers  to  a  common  denominator.  On  the  other 
hand,  scientific  management  is  teaching  the  em- 
ployers that  an  unstable  labor  force  makes  for  in- 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     247 

efficiency.  This  shifting  of  the  center  of  gravity 
from  the  skilled  to  the  unskilled  may  cause  the  fu- 
ture of  unionism  to  look  dark,  unless  political  ac- 
tivity, the  mass  strike  or  some  other  alternative 
can  be  depended  upon.  In  short,  the  traditional 
union  tactics  are  of  value  especially  to  the  trade  or 
craft  union,  and  may  not  be  depended  upon  to  give 
as  excellent  results  when  the  unskilled  fill  the  ranks 
of  organized  labor  and  control  in  its  councils.  Nev- 
ertheless, the  United  Mine  Workers,  an  industrial 
union,  has  for  several  years  successfully  carried  out 
a  policy  of  bargaining  with  the  mine  operators. 

Doubtless  recent  changes  in  the  policy  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  have  been  hastened 
by  the  birth  and  growth  of  the  radical  and  aggres- 
sive Industrial  Workers  of  the  World.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Federation  hate  this  radical  organiza- 
tion of  the  industrial  union  type ;  but  they  also  recog- 
nize that  it  appeals  chiefly  to  the  numerous  class  of 
unskilled  which  they  have  been  prone  to  overlook. 
Their  Secretary-Treasurer,  W.  D.  Haywood,  for- 
getting the  Knights  of  Labor,  declares  that  the 
Industrial  Workers  of  the  World  uttered  the  "first 
bold,  brotherly  cry  which  these  ignored  masses  have 
ever  heard."  Hence,  an  added  reason  is  given  for 
the  solicitude  on  the  part  of  the  members  of  the 
Federation  for  this  hitherto  neglected  group.  But 
the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World  is  an  agitat- 
ing group,  not  a  stable  form  of  organized  labor. 
Its  members  are  too  individualistic  to  cohere  firmly 


248  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

except  under  the  spur  of  an  industrial  dispute. 
However,  it  prepares  the  ground  for  constructive 
industrial  unionism.  The  American  Federation  or 
some  other  organization  will  reap  the  fruits  of  the 
work  of  these  pioneers  in  industrial  unionism.  The 
Western  Federation  of  Miners,  the  union  chiefly  re- 
sponsible for  the  organization  of  the  Industrial 
Workers  of  the  World,  is  now  affiliated  in  the 
American  Federation.  Other  workers  and  organi- 
zations may  be  expected  to  follow  the  same  course 
unless  reactionary  influences  gain  the  upper  hand  in 
the  Federation. 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor  is  increasing 
in  numbers  in  spite  of  fierce  opposition;  and  this 
federation  of  old-line  trade  unions  is  giving  prom- 
ise of  power  to  adapt  itself  to  changing  industrial 
conditions.  Amalgamation  and  federation  within 
the  Federation  are  taking  place.  Craft  unionism  in- 
side the  organization  is  giving  way  to  amalgama- 
tion of  allied  trades  and  to  industrial  unionism. 
The  substance  of  industrial  unionism,  stripped  of 
the  dry  and  repulsive  husks  of  lawlessness,  syndi- 
calism and  sabotage,  is  being  gradually,  unostenta- 
tiously and  somewhat  reluctantly  absorbed  by  the 
Federation.  If  this  process  continues,  if  the  Feder- 
ation, with  its  affiliated  national  and  international 
unions,  gradually  sloughs  off  the  worn  and  divided 
shell  of  trade  unionism  and  puts  on  in  its  stead  the 
more  attractive  and  cosmopolitan  mantle  of  indus- 
trial unionism,  this  great  labor  organization  must 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     249 

throw  on  to  the  scrap-heap  much  of  its  narrowness 
and  its  practicahty,  and  be  contented  with  more  of 
inclusiveness  and  of  ideaHsm.  It  will  also  be  ob- 
liged to  lessen  the  stress  hitherto  placed  upon  the 
requirement  that  the  labor  leader  "deliver  the 
goods"  in  the  near  future,  and  to  increase  the  em- 
phasis placed  upon  more  diffused  and  slower  re- 
turns. Can  such  a  consummation  reasonably  be 
anticipated?  Can  the  organization  so  completely 
change?  Are  the  immediate  necessities,  the  train- 
ing and  the  experience  of  the  mass  of  workers  such 
that  they  are  barred  from  the  broader  horizon  of 
social  welfare  or  even  of  working  class  welfare? 
How  far  can  the  trade  group  or  the  occupation 
group  be  submerged  under  the  concept  of  a  wage- 
working  class?  To  steer  the  trade  union  craft  safe- 
ly through  an  uncharted  channel  so  as  to  avoid  ship- 
wreck on  the  various  rocks  of  opposition,  and  at  the 
same  time  change  the  nature  of  the  craft,  is  indeed 
a  problem  of  industrial  statesmanship. 

Certainly  organized  labor  in  the  United  States 
has  not  yet  acquired  the  social  point  of  view  and 
outlook.  It  still  considers  itself  to  be  "a  state  within 
a  state."  But  this  attitude  is  doubtless  in  part  a 
product  of  the  dominance  in  governmental  affairs 
of  other  classes  and  interests.  And  no  matter  what 
progress  is  made  toward  further  socialization,  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  group  interests  will  con- 
tinue to  be  important  factors  in  social  control.  "In 
a  State  which  is  industrialized,  socialized,  or  trade- 


250  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

federalized,  men  will  evidently  gather  into  parties 
much  as  they  now  gather  into  trade  unions  and 
other  nonpolitical  associations,  according  to  their 
ideas  of  concrete  group  interest."  ^  The  funda- 
mental problem  is  so  far  to  harmonize  group  inter- 
ests as  to  produce  a  serviceable  community  policy, 
one  which  does  not  overlook  or  unduly  neglect  the 
interests  of  any  particular  group,  and  which  ad- 
vances the  interests  of  the  community  or  the  nation 
considered  as  a  social  unit.  In  order  to  work  out 
such  a  policy  both  labor  and  employers  must  gain 
a  more  sympathetic  and  complete  knowledge  of  the 
aims,  problems  and  personality  of  the  members  of 
the  other  group.  Until  this  primary  step  is  taken 
progress  toward  harmonious  relations  must  be  slow 
and  irregular.  Too  often  the  distrust  which  per- 
meates the  industrial  world  leads  one  group  to  look 
with  suspicion  upon  any  project,  however  meritor- 
ious, proposed  by  the  other.  Unless  the  atmosphere 
can  be  cleared  of  doubt,  suspicion  and  prejudice,  in- 
dustrial peace  in  the  United  States  after  the  War 
will  hang  only  by  a  slender  and  easily  broken 
thread. 

As  has  been  indicated  in  preceding  chapters,  the 
workingmen  of  the  United  States  were  important 
political  factors  in  the  decades  immediately  preced- 
ing the  opening  of  the  Civil  War.  Although  the 
wage  earners  constitute  a  large  and  increasing  per- 

^Millspaugh,  Advocate  of  Peace,  December,  1917,  p. 
329- 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES      251 

centage  of  the  electorate  of  the  nation,  their  influ- 
ence upon  legislation  in  recent  years  has  been  less 
potent  than  in  the  twenties  and  thirties  of  last  cen- 
tury. Not  only  have  the  American  wage  workers  in 
recent  decades  been  politically  weak,  but,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Great  War,  America  no  longer  held 
the  proud  position  of  the  leading  exponent  of  de- 
mocracy. The  leaders  of  liberal  thought  in  Amer- 
ica were  studying  "democratic  institutions  in  Europe 
and  Australia" ;  and  the  discontent  among  the  wage 
workers  had  become  so  widespread  and  so  evident 
that  Congress  saw  fit  to  appoint  a  commission  of 
investigation  into  the  causes  of  industrial  unrest. 
The  task  to  which  our  attention  is  now  directed  is 
that  of  attempting  to  formulate  an  answer  to  the 
following  question :  What  are  the  chief  causes  of  the 
political  impotency  in  recent  years  of  the  vast  and 
discontented  army  of  American  wage  earners? 
Since  unorganized  labor  consists  of  unguided  and 
disunited  groups  of  wage  earners,  it  only  becomes 
an  important  and  potent  force  for  the  betterment  of 
labor  conditions  on  either  the  industrial  or  the  po- 
litical field  when  it  adheres  to  the  program  of 
organized  labor.  Therefore,  the  causes  of  the 
political  weakness  of  organized  labor  are  also 
causes  of  the  political  impotency  of  all  American 
wage  earners. 

At  least  five  reasons  may  be  assigned  for  the  po- 
litical weakness  of  the  American  wage  earners  :  ( i  )^ 


252  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

The  failure  of  the  workers  in  this  country  to  de- 
velop a  strong  labor  party.  (2)  The  activity  and 
powerful  opposition  of  well  organized  associations 
of  employers.  (3)  The  effect  of  the  "machine  proc- 
ess." (4)  The  large  percentage  of  foreign-born 
and  nonvoters  among  American  wage  earners.  (5) 
The  rise  of  the  abler  wage  earners  into  the  ranks 
of  employers — farmers  and  small  proprietors — into 
higher  salaried  positions,  and  into  political  positions. 
The  political  weakness  of  organized  labor  inevitably 
causes  labor  leaders  to  stress  action  on  the  indus- 
trial field — the  strike,  the  boycott,  the  union  label, 
the  union  shop.  It  has  led  the  unionist  to  become 
very  distrustful  of  welfare  work  and  of  ameliora- 
tive legislation.  The  reformer  of  the  humanitarian 
type  is  not  highly  esteemed  by  the  average  labor 
leader  of  the  present  decade. 

The  American  unionist,  be  he  radical  or  conserva- 
tive, is  emphasizing  more  and  more  the  importance 
of  action  by  the  union.  In  recent  years  the  average 
unionist  does  not  look  with  favor  upon  anything 
savoring  of  paternalism.  For  example,  the  Amer- 
ican Federation  of  Labor  in  the  Philadelphia  con- 
vention of  19 14  voted  down  a  resolution  in  favor 
of  making  an  effort  to  secure  an  eight  hour  day  by 
means  of  legislative  action;  and  the  Convention  of 
1915  also  defeated  a  similar  resolution.  The  editor 
of  a  labor  paper  recently  pointed  out  that  "human 
liberties  are  not  created  by  law" ;  and  the  three  rep- 
resentatives of  organized  labor  on  the  Federal  Com- 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES      253 

mission  on  Industrial  Relations  insisted  that  new 
legislative  and  administrative  macliinery  must  not 
be  considered  as  a  cure-all  for  the  ills  of  which  the 
wage  earners  complain.  At  this  point  is  noted  a 
fairly  distinct  line  of  demarcation  between  the  repre- 
sentatives of  organized  labor  and  the  typical  pro- 
gressive of  the  present  decade. 

This  tendency  to  oppose  strenuously  paternalism 
indicates  that  class  consciousness  is  growing  in 
strength  amid  the  ranks  of  organized  labor.  It  is 
clearly  manifested  in  two  somewhat  dissimilar  ways. 
In  the  first  place,  it  means  distrust  of  everything 
savoring  of  philanthropy  or  of  welfare  work.  Sec- 
ondly, it  signifies  a  growing  opposition  to  the  ex- 
tension of  governmental  activities — such  as  laws 
limiting  the  hours  of  labor,  laws  providing  for 
compulsory  arbitration  and  social  insurance,  and  for 
the  extension  of  governmental  ownership  of  pubHc 
utilities.  Conservative  trade  unionists,  socialists 
and  syndicalists  agree  in  regard  to  the  first ;  but  the 
socialists  oppose  the  second  tendency.  This  modifi- 
cation in  the  ideals  of  organized  labor  may  be  pre- 
sented from  another  angle.  It  means  :  ( i )  Opposi- 
tion to  anything  which  seems  to  place  the  represen- 
tatives of  organized  labor  under  the  dominance  of 
reformers  or  of  the  representatives  of  organized 
capital;  and  (2)  opposition  to  all  laws  and  tenden- 
cies which  may  restrict  freedom  of  action  on  the 
part  of  labor  organizations. 

This  undercurrent  of  aversion  for  humanitarian- 


254  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ism  may  be  a  reaction  against  the  organized,  com- 
mercialized and  professionalized  social  service.  Ex- 
pert professional  and  amateur  welfare  workers  are 
abroad  in  the  land.  Scientific  management,  welfare 
work,  social  service  and  the  conservation  of  human 
energy  are  well  known,  almost  hackneyed,  phrases. 
Great  endowments  are  being  utilized  to  maintain 
and  encourage  the  professional  investigator  and  ex- 
pert. The  American  people  have  humbly  bowed 
down  before  the  attractive  altar  of  efficiency.  Col- 
lege students,  club  women  and  professional  social 
workers  are  eager  and  anxious  to  perform  some 
form  of  social  service.  To  give  advice  to,  to  minis- 
ter unto,  and  to  guide  the  workingman  and  his  fam- 
ily are  the  ambitions  of  many  ardent,  hopeful  and 
somewhat  condescending  individuals.  And,  more- 
over, not  a  few  employers  are  finding  that  welfare 
work  and  social  service  pay  dividends.  On  the  other 
hand,  organized  workers,  nonsocialist  and  socialist, 
feel  and  feel  keenly  that  scientific  management  is 
merely  a  subtle  way  of  overdriving  them,  that  wel- 
fare work,  social  service  and  philanthropy  are  forms 
of  "benevolent  feudalism"  which  militate  against 
the  independence  of  the  workers,  and  which  reduce 
them  to  a  position  of  tutelage. 

Wage  earners  are  asserting  that  better  factory 
conditions  and  safety  appliances  are  being  vouch- 
safed them  at  the  expense  of  a  strong  and  virile 
unionism.  Betterment  obtained  through  the  efforts 
of   social   workers,   benevolent   employers   or   even 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     255 

through  governmental  action  is  not  always  looked 
upon  with  favor.  If  betterment  means  wrecking 
unionism,  opinion  among  organized  workers  is  ad- 
verse to  such  plans.  The  chairman  of  the  Federal 
Commission  on  Industrial  Relations  expressed  the 
same  idea  in  the  following  words:  "But  until  the 
workers  themselves  realize  their  responsibility  and 
utilize  to  the  full  their  collective  power,  no  action, 
whether  governmental  or  altruistic,  can  work  any 
genuine  and  lasting  improvement."  ® 

Mr.  A.  J.  Portenar,  a  well-known  member  of  the 
Typographical  Union,  has  "an  ineradicable  notion 
that  work  people  are  entitled  to  a  voice  in  the  mak- 
ing of  wage  scales,  fixing  the  length  of  the  work 
day,  and  other  important  incidents  affecting  employ- 
ment, and  that  no  amount  of  kindly  w^elfare  work, 
no  benefits  of  any  sort  flowing  from  a  benevolent 
despotism  which  arrogates  to  itself  entire  jurisdic- 
tion over  such  matters,  can  compensate  for  the  de- 
privation of  this  inherent  right."  '^  This  doubtless 
is  a  clear  and  fairly  accurate  portrayal  of  the  atti- 
tude of  the  great  majority  of  union  men.  Mr. 
Gompers  offers  this  couplet : 

"It  is  better  to  resist  and  lose 
Than  not  to  resist  at  all." 

And  two  of  the  labor  members  of  the  Commission 

'Report,  1915  ed.,  p.  301. 

'  The  Annals  of  the  American  Academy,  Mav,  1917, 
P-  195- 


256  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

on  Industrial  Relations  reaffirm  these  sentiments 
in  unmistakable  terms.  "Labor  must  work  out  its 
own  salvation.  Wage  workers  can  attain  that  de- 
gree of  well-being  to  which  they  are  entitled  only 
by  their  own  efforts.  The  general  public  cannot  be 
expected  to  do  for  them  what  they  fail  to  do  for 
themselves,  nor  would  it  be  desirable  that  those 
rights  and  benefits  to  which  they  are  entitled  should 
be  handed  down  to  them  by  the  Government  or  by 
organized  society  as  grace  from  above."  ® 

The  potentialities  of  scientific  management  are 
enormous ;  but  the  maximum  increase  in  output  can- 
not be  attained  unless  the  workers  are  willing  to 
cooperate  with  the  efficiency  engineers,  unless  the 
former  feel  that  the  system  will  be  of  benefit  to 
them,  unless  they  are  allowed  some  voice  in  con- 
nection with  its  adoption  and  its  administration. 
Employers  have  doubtless  tried  to  secure  the  major 
fraction  of  the  benefits  for  themselves ;  and  union 
leaders  have  adopted  the  familiar  and  naive  policy 
of  fighting  the  introduction  and  utilization  of  scien- 
tific management.  If  scientific  management  results 
in  increased  efficiency,  its  general  adoption  like  the 
introduction  of  machinery  in  the  face  of  opposition, 
is  quite  certain  to  follow.  Organized  labor  may 
delay,  but  not  permanently  prevent,  the  adoption 
of  scientific  management.  The  labor  leader  should 
be  counseled  to  lay  aside  the  negative  and  barren 
policy  of  obstruction  and  in  its  stead  plan  to  har- 

'  Report,  p.  288. 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     257 

vest  for  labor  a  generous  share  of  the  benefits.  The 
problem  from  the  standpoint  of  the  nation,  as  well 
as  from  that  of  the  expert  in  efficiency  engineering, 
is  to  make  scientific  management  and  welfare  work 
look  good  to  both  employer  and  employees.  Indus- 
trial peace  and  industrial  efficiency  cannot  be  an- 
ticipated until  labor  and  capital  cease  to  be  suspi- 
cious of  each  other.^ 

The  old  hatred  which  Jacksonian  democracy  en- 
tertained for  the  expert  in  public  office  is  unfortu- 
nately being  revived  in  the  ranks  of  organized  labor 
in  America.  The  defeat  of  the  Alitchel  adminis- 
tration in  the  New  York  City  election  of  191 7  is  an 
indication  of  popular  indifference  and  antagonism 
toward  the  work  of  the  expert.  The  revival  of 
crude  democracy  is  peculiarly  ill-timed.  The  tasks 
to  be  performed  by  our  government  are  becoming 
more  and  more  complex  as  the  years  go  by ;  and  the 
United  States  and  the  other  nations  have  but  re- 
cently faced  the  danger  of  a  world  famine.  Now, 
above  all  other  times  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
administrative  tasks  should  be  handled  by  experts. 
But  at  the  very  moment  when  students  of  American 
politics  are  telling  us  that  the  "people  as  a  whole 
must  leave  to  experts  matters  requiring  expert 
knowledge, — but  hold  the  expert  responsible — labor 
leaders  and  others  are  decrying  the  work  of  the 
well  trained.     The  opposition  of  the  men  of  labor 

"See  Carlton,  "Labor  and  Capital  after  the  War," 
The  Public,  March  23,  1918. 


258  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

to  the  "Intellectuals"  is  evidently  directed  against 
the  idea  that  the  workers  must  blindly  follow 
the  advice  and  plans  of  the  specialists.  It  is 
a  new  phase  of  the  problem  of  democracy  and 
of  mistakes  versus  centralized  control  and  effi- 
ciency. 

The  socialists  have  long  taken  great  delight  in 
holding  up  to  ridicule  the  middle  class  reformer,  up- 
lifter  or  social  worker;  but  the  conservative  labor 
leaders  whose  relations  with  the  socialists  are  by 
no  means  harmonious  are  also  calling  this  enthusi- 
astic group  bad  names.  The  capable  editor  of  one 
of  the  best  labor  journals  puts  his  view  as  follows : 
"Witli  the  endowment  of  funds  by  well-intentioned 
people  there  has  arisen  during  recent  years  a  group 
of  professional  uplifters,  men  and  women,  who 
for  a  salary  devote  their  time  to  studying  indus- 
trial problems,  investigating  industrial  conditions 
and  preparing  programs  having  as  an  object  the 
welfare  of  labor.  Most  of  the  professional  up- 
lifters have  a  genuinely  sympathetic  heart  for  the 
welfare  of  labor,  but  a  number  seem  to  be  of  the 
opinion  that  their  attainments  and  knowledge  are 
so  superior  to  that  of  the  workers,  that  their  mis- 
sion is  to  tell  the  workers  what  they  want,  what 
they  need,  and  what  they  should  do  to  secure  their 
ends."  1°  And  Mr.  Gompers  is  still  more  bitter. 
"One  of  the  most  dangerous  phases  of  present-day 
affairs  is  the  group  of  otherwise  disengaged  philan- 

"  Internationa  Moldcrs'  Journal,  xA.pril,  1916,  p.  335. 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     259 

thropists  who  wish  to  do  things  for  the  poor,  and  the 
developing  profession  of  specially  trained  salaried 
individuals  who  are  anxious  to  establish  ways  and 
means  by  which  they  may  solve  the  industrial  and 
social  problems  of  the  workers.  ...  As  these  ex- 
pert reformers — 'intellectuals' — increase  in  number 
and  zeal  they  disclose  plainly  that  their  prototype 
is  the  ancient  village  busybody  to  whom  no  detail 
of  other  men's  lives  was  sacred,  and  their  present 
purposes  are  no  more  exalted  than  were  those  of 
the  unskilled  busybody  who  worked  without  tech- 
nical training."  ^^  Mr.  Gompers  also  describes  the 
professional  and  amateur  social  worker  by  means 
of  the  picturesque  phrase  of  "barnacles"  upon  the 
labor  movement.  A  socialist  representative  of  or- 
ganized labor  declares  that  organized  labor  "is  no 
more  willing  to  submit  to  the  rule  of  the  beneficent 
and  efficient  than  were  the  American  colonists  will- 
ing to  submit  to  the  rule  of  the  British  Parliament. 
Labor  would  rather  be  free  than  clean."  ^-  A  few 
years  ago  a  union  official  informed  the  writer  that 
it  was  impossible  for  men  of  the  type  of  the  latter 
to  understand  the  aims  and  ideals  of  unionists. 

In  another  respect  the  ideals  of  organized  lalx)r 
approach  those  of  the  frontier  democracy  typified 
by  Andrew  Jackson.  The  nonsocialist  leaders,  and 
of  course  the  socialists  also,  of  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labor  approve  of  legislation  which  pro- 

^  American  Fcdcrationist,  March,  1916. 
"Marot.  American  Labor  Unions,  p.  10. 


26o  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

tects  those  who  cannot  be  organized  or  which  re- 
moves obstacles  in  the  way  of  organized  labor. 
Child  labor  laws  and  laws  regulating  convict  labor 
are  favored.  The  recent  act  in  regard  to  seamen 
was  actively  lobbied  for  because  it  was  held  that 
this  act  "removes  the  last  vestige  of  involuntary 
servitude  from  the  laws  of  the  United  States."  The 
Federation  is  practically  a  unit  in  favoring  federal 
and  state  laws  which  place  labor  organizations  out- 
side the  category  of  trusts.  Such  laws  are  urged  as 
"liberating"  labor.  On  the  other  hand,  the  same 
organization  is  officially  committed  to  opposition 
to  laws  which  are  alleged  to  fetter  organized  labor, 
such  as  laws  limiting  the  hours  of  labor  for  adult 
males  employed  by  private  corporations  or  by  in- 
dividuals, laws  providing  for  compulsory  arbitra- 
tion and  for  compulsory  social  insurance.  These 
laws  are  conceived  to  be  attempts  "to  rivet  the 
masses  of  labor  to  the  juggernaut  of  government." 
Fear  of  governmental  agencies  is  expressed.  There 
"has  been  a  constant  struggle  of  the  workers 
through  the  ages,  to  get  the  tentacles  of  governmen- 
tal agencies  from  off  the  throats  of  the  workers  and 
to  break  the  gyves  from  off  their  wrists."  ^^  And 
laws  of  the  second  type  just  mentioned  will  help 
to  undo  the  good  work  of  preceding  generations. 
Mr.  John  P.  Frey,  editor  of  the  International  M ald- 
ers' Journal,  writes  that  the  "most  influential  lead- 
ers and  thinkers  in  the  trade  union  movement"  feel 
"Gompers,  American  Federatmiist,  May,  1916,  p.  347. 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES      261 

that  it  is  their  duty  "to  deny  the  right  of  the  legis- 
lature to  endeavor  to  regulate  by  law  what  any  of 
the  terms  of  employment  shall  be  for  adult  males 
except  those  in  government  employ."  ^*  However, 
the  "radicals  and  the  westerners"  in  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor  have  felt  more  favorable  to- 
ward legislative  activity  than  "the  conservatives 
and  the  easterners."  The  attitude  of  Mr.  Gompers 
and  his  followers  toward  the  Adamson  law  of  19 16, 
which  appeared  to  be  legislation  fixing  the  length 
of  the  normal  working  day  for  railway  employees, 
may  mean  a  changed  attitude  on  the  part  of  the 
conservative  leaders  of  the  Federation.^^  Mr.  Gom- 
pers' anxiety  to  get  the  railway  brotherhoods  into 
the  fold  of  the  Federation  may,  however,  have 
caused  him  temporarily  to  lay  aside  his  opposition 
to  labor  legislation  of  the  type  represented  by  the 
Adamson  law.  But  this  law  may  reasonably  be 
interpreted  as  forced  legislation  in  regard  to  wages 
rather  than  as  to  the  length  of  the  working  day,  in 
a  quasi-public  industry;  and  during  the  entire  con- 
troversy in  the  not  distant  background  was  the 
threat  of  direct  union  action  in  case  organized  labor 
did  not  get  what  it  demanded. 

This  attitude  on  the  part  of  organized  labor  is 
probably  due  in  part  at  least  to  a  lack  of  confidence 
in  the  unbiased  judgment  of  the  legislature,  the  ju- 

"  Letter  dated  January  18,  1917. 

*^  The  1917  Convention  adopted  a  resolution  favoring  a 
federal  eight  hour  day  for  women  and  minora  "who  are 
employed  on  products  which  enter  into  interstate  trade." 


262  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

diciary  and  the  administrative  officials.  "No  testi- 
mony presented  to  the  Commission  has  left  a  deeper 
impression  than  the  evidence  that  there  exists 
among  the  workers  an  almost  universal  conviction 
that  they,  both  as  individuals  and  as  a  class,  are 
denied  justice  in  the  enactment,  adjudication,  and 
administration  of  law,  that  the  very  instruments  of 
democracy  are  often  used  to  oppress  them  and  to 
place  obstacles  in  the  way  of  their  movement  to- 
ward economic,  industrial  and  political  freedom  and 
justice."  ^®  In  part,  also,  this  distrust  of  govern- 
mental action  is  due  to  the  feeling  that  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  working  people  can  be  advanced  only 
by  organization  and  by  collective  bargaining.  The 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  recently 
affirmed  the  right  of  a  state  to  regulate  hours  of 
labor  for  adult  males.  As  a  consequence,  more 
stress  may  be  laid  by  organized  labor  upon  legis- 
lative action.  Early  in  1918  the  New  York  State 
Federation  of  Labor  adopted  resolutions  favoring 
the  enactment  of  an  eight  hour  law  and  a  Saturday 
half  holiday  law.^"^ 

The  employers  and  capitalists  of  the  country  are 
becoming  resigned  to  interference,  regulation  and 
control  through  a  variety  of  commissions,  commit- 
tees, surveys  and  reports.  The  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  is  no  longer  bitterly  opposed  by 

^Report  of  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations,  1915, 
p.  38.    See  also  p.  307. 
"Fitch,  The  Survey,  February  2,  1918. 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     263 

the  railway  interests.  It  was  even  suggested  before 
the  federal  government  took  control  of  the  railways 
that  the  Commission  be  given  power  to  fix  the  wages 
of  railway  employees.  The  Federal  Trade  Com- 
mission is  the  opening  wedge  in  other  fields.  The 
operation  of  the  railways  by  the  federal  govern- 
ment met  with  little  opposition  at  the  time  the  step 
was  taken.  The  assumption  during  the  war  of  ex- 
traordinary powers,  by  the  federal  government, 
over  our  business  enterprises  will  doubtless  leave  a 
mark  which  will  not  be  entirely  erased.  While  cap- 
ital was  gradually  losing  its  aversion  for  regulation, 
arbitration,  social  insurance  and  even  for  govern- 
mental ownership  of  public  utilities,  organized  labor 
has  been  becoming  more  and  more  suspicious  of 
such  proposals.  Mr.  Gompers  as  the  spokesman  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor  opposed  the  com- 
pulsory health  insurance  measures  fathered  by  the 
American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  a  very 
respectable  body  of  experts  and  students  of  social 
problems.  It  is  alleged  that  these  proposals  were 
drawn  up  without  consultation  with  organized  la- 
bor; and  adverse  efforts  upon  unions  now  providing* 
benefit  funds  are  feared.  "We  may  prematurely 
and  do  unnecessarily  lose  a  number  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  our  fellows  by  reason  of  ill-health,  but  it  is 
even  of  greater  concern  to  all  the  working  people  of 
the  country  that  under  no  guise,  however  well  in- 
tentioned,  shall  they  lose  their  liberties."^ ^  In 
^American  Fcderntionist,  April,  1916. 


264  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

short,  more  sickness,  more  suffering  and  more  pre- 
mature deaths  among  multitudes  of  workers  and 
their  famihes  coupled  with  strong  trade  unionism 
are  preferable  to  less  with  weakened  unions.  It  is 
the  martyrdom  of  many  for  the  cause  of  organized 
labor  and  in  the  interest  of  future  betterment.  The 
socialists  and  many  trade  unionists  who  are  not  so- 
cialists are,  however,  in  favor  of  health  insurance. 
The  sole  representative  of  the  socialist  party  in  Con- 
gress, Mr.  London,  introduced  a  bill  providing  for 
a  commission  to  report  a  plan  for  the  establishment 
and  maintenance  of  a  national  insurance  fund.  This 
bill  was  bitterly  opposed  by  Mr.  Gompers. 

In  the  nineties,  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
adopted  resolutions  favoring  municipal  ownership 
of  public  utilities  and  government  ownership  of  the 
railways.  Recently  organized  labor  began  to  op- 
pose municipal  ownership  of  public  utilities  because 
of  the  fear  that  governmental  employees  will  be  re- 
stricted in  their  right  to  use  the  weapons — the  strike 
and  the  boycott— of  organized  labor.  For  example, 
many  unionists  opposed  the  ownership  by  the  city 
of  the  street  railways  of  Detroit.  In  answer  to  an 
appeal  made  to  him,  President  Gompers  sent  the  fol- 
lowing telegram  to  labor  representatives  in  Detroit : 
*T  would  not  vote  in  favor  of  municipalization  of 
the  railways  unless  it  had  at  least  this  provision: 
right  of  the  workers  to  organize  and  for  the  direc- 
tors of  the  railroad  to  enter  into  joint  bargain  re- 
garding wages,  hours  and  conditions  of  employ- 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES      265 

ment.  If  proposition  does  not  contain  such  a  pro- 
viso, in  my  judgment,  it  should  be  defeated."  ^*  In 
19 1 5,  the  American  Federation  adopted  resolutions 
favoring  government  ownership  of  the  telegraph 
lines,  providing  provisions  were  made  allowing  the 
employees  to  organize. 

Does  this  attitude  of  organized  labor  indicate 
that  it  is  exalting  the  means — organization — rather 
than  the  end — betterment  of  living  and  working 
conditions?  Does  it  mean  that  labor  leaders  are 
emphasizing  unionism  in  order  to  add  to  their  pow- 
er, prestige  and  following?  Labor  leaders  are,  like 
all  other  human  beings,  selfish;  and  they  doubtless 
do  over-emphasize  the  importance  of  organization. 
But  it  seems  clear  that  the  organized  workers  of 
the  United  States  were  convinced  in  19 16  and  19 17 
that  the  hope  of  the  workingmen  as  a  class  was 
anchored  to  self-help  through  collective  bargaining 
and  organized  effort.  Therefore,  any  proposal  or 
measure  which  tended  to  prevent  the  use  of  the  tra- 
ditional weapons  of  organized  labor  or  which  re- 
stricted the  functions  of  labor  organizations  in  the 
name  of  public  welfare  or  of  business  prosperity 
was  looked  upon  as  subversive  of  the  best  interests 
of  the  wage  workers  of  the  nation,  A  large  percent- 
age of  the  members  of  American  labor  organizations 
belong  to  the  so-called  skilled  trades.  "Such  labor 
is  strong  at  industrial  bargaining;  it  is  weak  only 
at  the  polls."  Hence,  it  is  urged  that  American  la- 
'^  American  Federationist,  February,  1916. 


266  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

bor  organizations  are  wise  in  opposing  governmen- 
tal interference  in  industrial  disputes.^*^  But,  if  the 
percentage  of  unskilled  in  the  ranks  of  organized 
labor  is  increasing,  a  new  policy  may  soon  become 
advisable.  However,  the  American  Federation  is 
as  yet  largely  controlled  by  leaders  who  represent 
the  old-line  unions  of  skilled  workers. 

Not  only  the  unionists,  but  also  the  farmers,  were 
placing  their  trust  more  and  more  in  organized  effort 
and  in  the  pressure  of  united  and  aggressive  action 
on  the  industrial  field.  Farmers  as  well  as  unionists 
were  beginning  to  assert  confidently  that  victories 
were  to  be  achieved  on  the  industrial  field  rather 
than  through  the  enactment  of  ameliorative  meas- 
ures secured  by  legislative  action.  The  farmers  did 
not  go  as  far  as  organized  labor  along  this  route  but 
their  faces  were  turned  in  that  direction.  In  the 
"milk  war"  in  New  York  in  the  autumn  of  1916, 
the  farmers  producing  milk  seized  that  familiar 
weapon  of  organized  labor,  the  strike.  Many  of 
the  episodes  common  to  a  labor  disturbance  marked 
the  course  of  events.  The  "scab,"  a  farmer,  was 
coerced  and  ostracized  by  his  neighbors,  also  farm- 
ers. "It  was  a  very  small  number  who  insisted  upon 
their  right  to  ship  their  milk  in  defiance  of  their 
neighbors,  and  life  for  these  promptly  became  very 
uncomfortable.  ...  It  wasn't  a  happy  existence 
they  led  for  a  few  days,  and  most  of  them  capitu- 

"  Commons  and  Andrews,  Principles  of  Labor  Legis- 
lation, p.  156. 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     267 

lated  and  joined  the  League  before  the  strike  was 
many  days  old."  The  few  who  persisted  faced  the 
''scorn  of  their  neighbors"  and  could  not  get  help 
"in  thrashing  and  other  cooperative  neighborhood 
efforts."  "We  have  found  that  we  possess  a  little 
of  the  fighting  spirit  of  our  Puritan  ancestors  .  .  . 
and  we  have  demonstrated  that  we  can  fight  side  by 
side."  -^  And  similar  episodes  have  occurred  in 
the  rural  districts  elsewhere  in  the  United  States. 
The  program  of  the  Non-Partisan  League  in  the 
Northwest  and  the  demand  of  the  New  York  farm- 
ers for  fifty  real  farmers  in  the  State  Legislature, 
indicate,  however,  a  firm  belief  in  the  potency  of 
political  action. 

Returning  to  the  consideration  of  the  attitude  of 
organized  labor,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  legisla- 
tive action  in  regard  to  hours,  minimum  wages  and 
factory  conditions  will  benefit  unorganized  labor 
more  than  it  will  the  members  of  labor  organiza- 
tions; but  organized  labor  has  not  habitually  mani- 
fested much  interest  in  improving  the  condition  of 
the  unskilled  and  unorganized.  From  the  point  of 
view  of  the  unionist,  improvement  in  working  con- 
ditions or  increases  in  wages  obtained  through  legal 
enactment  or  because  of  voluntary  concessions  on 
the  part  of  the  employer,  are  of  less  imjx)rtance 
than  labor  solidarity  in  the  face  of  defeat.  In  short, 
let  it  be  repeated,  organization,  coherence  and  loy- 
alty to  the  union  are  considered  by  organized  labor 
''^  The  Rural  New  Yorker,  December  2,  191 6. 


268  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

to  be  of  more  value  to  the  wage  earners  as  a  class 
than  higher  wages,  a  shorter  working  day  or  wel- 
fare provisions  obtained  without  struggle  or  sacri- 
fice. 

European  wage  earners  manifest  less  distrust  of 
legislative  activity.  But  in  Europe  the  labor  party, 
partisan  to  the  interests  of  the  wage  earners,  is  a 
powerful  lever  which  has  forced  directly  or  indi- 
rectly many  legislative  enactments  favorable  to  the 
interests  of  workingmen.  In  this  country,  on  the 
other  hand,  outside  of  the  Socialist  party  group, 
labor  has  attempted  to  work  through  the  old  par- 
ties financed  by  the  business  interests.  It  is,  conse- 
quently, very  difficult  for  labor  in  America  to  show 
that  ameliorative  legislation  has  been  forced  by  the 
ballot  in  the  hands  of  the  workers;  and,  further, 
much  legislation  in  recent  decades  favored  by  or- 
ganized labor  has  been  sidetracked,  emasculated  or 
found  to  be  unenforceable. 

If  legislative  action  favorable  to  the  interests  of 
labor  came  about  solely  as  the  result  of  pressure 
brought  to  bear  by  a  well  organized  and  closely  knit 
labor  party,  there  would  be  little  or  no  occasion  to 
fear  that  legislation  in  regard  to  hours,  minimum 
wages  and  the  like  would  weaken  organized  labor. 
Legislative  work  would  be  just  as  definite  a  form 
of  union  activity  as  are  strikes.  To  obtain  demands 
through  legislation  would  strengthen  the  solidarity 
of  labor  as  much  as  if  those  demands  were  obtained 
as  the  result  of  activity  on  the  industrial  field.    The 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     269 

weapons  and  methods  of  organized  labor  would 
doubtless  undergo  certain  significant  changes  after 
legislative  activity  became  an  important  and  cus- 
tomary form  of  union  endeavor.  The  power  of 
the  American  courts  under  our  written  con- 
stitution is  another  factor  in  the  matter.  A  pow- 
erful labor  party  in  the  United  States  might  find 
its  efforts  in  a  large  measure  nullified  in  a  way 
unknown  to  European  labor  parties.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  powerful  labor  party  might  lead  to  the 
appointment  of  men  to  the  federal  Supreme  Court 
who  would  sanction  extraordinary  extensions  of 
the  police  power. 

Legislation  to-day,  in  the  absence  of  a  strong 
labor  party,  always  means  a  compromise  with  other 
groups  and  interests.  It  is  passed  as  a  concession 
on  the  part  of  conservatives  to  organized  labor  and 
to  the  so-called  reformer.  In  short,  the  political 
policy  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  has 
been,  up  to  date,  far  from  successful.  To-day  the 
laurels  for  the  passage  of  labor  legislation  are 
placed  on  the  brow  of  the  reformer  rather  than 
upon  that  of  the  labor  leader.  And  members  of  or- 
ganized labor,  before  the  war  unsettled  conditions, 
were  beginning  to  recognize  this  fact.  In  their  1914 
convention,  the  biggest  and  most  powerful  union  in 
the  American  Federation,  the  United  Mine  Work- 
ers, passed  resolutions  favoring  the  formation  of 
a  labor  party.    In  1918  and  1919,  several  local  and 


270  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

state  labor  parties  were  favored  or  actually  organ- 
ized. 

In  1 9 19,  steps  were  also  taken  leading  toward  the 
formation  of  a  national  labor  party  to  enter  the  con- 
test in  1920.  President  Wilson's  labor  policy  up  to 
the  time  of  the  strike  of  the  coal  miners  in  1919 
was  quite  satisfactory  to  the  leaders  of  organized 
labor.  The  injunctions  issued  in  connection  with 
that  big  strike  and  the  growing  unsympathetic  at- 
titude of  the  general  public  may  bring  about  a  situa- 
tion favorable  to  the  rapid  growth  of  a  national 
labor  party.  Labor  has  become  aggressive  in  recent 
months;  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  either  of  the  old 
parties  can  be  expected  to  look  with  favor  upon  any 
but  the  more  moderate  demands  of  organized 
labor. 

Unless  a  clear  cut  labor  party — the  socialist  or 
some  new  party — is  able  to  gain  the  allegiance  of 
many  wage  earners  and  become  a  potent  political 
force,  the  tendency  of  the  leaders  of  labor  organiza- 
tions in  the  face  of  opposition  to  emphasize  the  im- 
portance of  purely  trade  union  action  will  doubt- 
less be  more  and  more  clearly  discerned.  But,  are 
the  wage  earners  sufficiently  united  to  make  a 
strong  labor  party  possible  in  the  United  States? 
Would  not  a  large  portion  of  the  skilled  work- 
ers vote  with  the  middle  class — the  small  farmers, 
small  business  men  and  professional  men?  The 
path  which  labor  is  to  tread  in  the  near  future  de- 
pends in  no  small  measure  on  whether  the  "aristo- 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES    271 

crats"  of  industry  do  or  do  not  join  hands  with 
the  masses  of  the  unskilled. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  trend  of  machine  indus- 
try and  of  scientific  management  is  to  undermine 
the  trade  or  craft  of  the  skilled  worker,  up  to  the 
present  time  many  of  the  leading  union  organiza- 
tions have  not  been  seriously  menaced.  The  build- 
ing craftsmen,  the  printers  and  the  members  of 
the  railway  brotherhoods  are  among  those  that  have 
not  as  yet  distinctly  felt  the  pinch.  And  these 
craftsmen  are  powerful  in  the  labor  world.  The 
sooner  these  aristocrats  of  labor  feel  the  pinch,  the 
sooner  may  they  be  expected  to  join  with  the  tm- 
skilled  either  upon  the  political  or  the  industrial 
field.  Then  a  new  and  momentous  crisis  in  the  his- 
tory of  labor  organizations  will  be  reached. 

Unless  favored  by  certain  strategic  advantages 
as  in  the  building  trades,  unless  a  fairly  high  de- 
gree of  skill  is  required  as  in  the  printing  indus- 
try or  in  the  case  of  railway  engineers,  or  unless 
the  strong  union  can  be  used  to  equalize  competi- 
tive conditions  as  in  the  coal  mining  industry, 
labor  organizations  facing  strong  and  hostile  em- 
ployers' associations  have  in  recent  years  been  en- 
gaged in  an  uphill  fight.  In  many  important  in- 
dustries the  employers  are  bitterly  opposed  to  ef- 
fective unionism  and  have  been  able  to  stifle  union- 
ism. The  iron  and  steel  industry  afifords  an  excel- 
lent example  of  enforced  nonunionism.  The 
Manly  Report  to  the  Commission  on  Industrial  Re- 


272  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

lations  puts  the  case  even  more  emphatically :  "Al- 
most without  exception  the  employees  of  the  large 
corporations  are  unorganized,  as  a  result  of  the  ac- 
tive and  aggressive  'nonunion'  policy  of  the  cor- 
poration managements.  Furthermore,  the  labor 
policy  of  the  large  corporations  almost  inevitably 
determines  the  labor  policy  of  the  entire  industry." 
Since  it  has  been  almost  impossible  to  bring  about 
organization  within  such  industries,  the  hope  of  bet- 
terment through  the  pressure  of  the  workers  can 
be  realized  only  by  means  of  political  action — un- 
less the  war  works  a  radical  modification.  The  bal- 
lot is  secret ;  but  union  membership  cannot  be  suc- 
cessfully concealed  from  the  spies  of  employers. 

Under  some  present-day  conditions,  however,  the 
safeguards  of  the  ballot  and  of  political  democracy 
are  of  minor  importance.  Political  strength  and 
economic  power  as  a  rule  go  hand  in  hand.  In  the 
Report  on  the  Colorado  Strike  made  for  the  Com- 
mission on  Industrial  Relations  is  found  the  fol- 
lowing significant  statement :  "Nothing  has  come 
home  with  greater  force  in  the  course  of  the  in- 
vestigations of  the  Commission  than  the  realiza- 
tion that  men  and  women  who  are  economically 
subservient  cannot  be  politically  free,  that  the  forms 
of  democracy  and  the  guarantees  of  American  in- 
stitutions are  hollow  and  meaningless  in  communi- 
ties where  the  many  must  depend  on  the  favor  of 
the  few  for  the  opportunity  to  obtain  food,  cloth- 
ing and  shelter."     The  import  of  this  observation 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES    273 

is  by  no  means  limited  to  Colorado  or  to  the  coal 
mining  industry  as  Homestead,  Los  Angeles,  Law- 
rence and  other  cities  and  localities  bear  eloquent 
testimony. 

Another  and  more  subtle  cause  for  the  political 
impotency  of  the  wage  earners  as  a  group  may  be 
found  in  the  evolution  of  routine  and  of  the  ma- 
chine process  in  the  great  industries  of  the  present. 
The  machine  process  does  not  demand  a  high  de- 
gree of  intelligence  from  the  average  worker.  The 
shop  organization  in  highly  systematized  and  scien- 
tifically managed  factories  is  of  the  military  type. 
A  few  directors — the  manager,  foremen,  expert  ad- 
visers— do  the  planning.  The  role  of  the  typical 
wage  earner  is  to  carry  out  the  orders  given  them 
without  question  and  without  deviation.  The  aver- 
age shop,  mill  or  factory  has  little  use  among  the 
mass  of  its  workers  for  the  man  of  initiative.  It 
does  not  need  or  desire  men  to  carry  a  message 
to  Garcia.  But  unquestioning  obedience,  subdivi- 
sion of  labor  and  monotony  in  the  sphere  of  bread- 
winning  unfortunately  do  not  furnish  the  requi- 
sites for  good  citizenship.  Men  spending  a  large 
portion  of  their  waking  hours  in  this  manner  are 
easily  led  by  designing  politicians.  Unaccustomed 
to  thinking,  they  follow  the  leader.  "Dumb,  driven 
cattle"  is  a  term  which  has  not  inaptly  been  ap- 
plied to  them. 

Nevertheless,  year  after  year,  the  percentage  of 
routine  workers   is   increasing.     It  has   been   esti- 


274  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

mated  that  in  the  railway  business  there  is  one  gen- 
eral officer  to  every  three  hundred  employees.  "In 
glass-making,  steel-making  and  mining  the  range  of 
intelligence  on  the  part  of  the  workman  is  lessened 
through  the  installation  of  perfected  mechanism 
and  devices.  While  there  is  a  very  sharp  demand 
for  super-intelligence  for  the  few  there  is  as  cer- 
tainly a  demand  for  a  mechanized  intelligence  for 
the  many,  a  demand  which  throws  a  light  upon  the 
opposition  to  the  literacy  test  for  immigrants  and 
explains  the  toleration  of  a  low  level  of  culture 
among  workers  in  Packingtown,  Lawrence,  the 
mining  districts  of  Colorado  and  similar  industrial 
centers  everywhere."  "-  And  Scott  Nearing  declares 
that  "the  most  shocking  thing  about  the  distribu- 
tion of  occupations  in  modern  industry  is  the  over- 
whelming proixjrtion  of  clerks  and  wage  earners." 
The  introduction  of  systems  of  scientific  manage- 
ment will  also  hasten  the  elimination  of  the  crafts- 
man, and  will  tend  to  erase  the  lines  of  demarca- 
tion between  different  crafts.  "Scientific  manage- 
ment," writes  one  student  of  the  system,  "tends  to 
shift  the  demand  from  labor  which  is  already 
skilled  to  that  which  is  teachable."  It  demands  the 
adaptable  and  tractable  worker.  If  this  be  the  con- 
dition under  which  a  living  for  the  many  is  ob- 
tained, the  importance  of  making  leisure  hours 
count  for  mental  uplift  and  developmental  activi- 
ties is  not  small.  Since,  in  the  immediate  future, 
"Weeks,  The  Survey,  January  8,  1916,    p.  422. 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES     275 

routine  in  industry  seems  inevitable,  comfortable 
and  attractive  homes  and  home  environment,  edu- 
cation and  recreation  should  furnish  the  material 
to  check  the  deterioration  and  demoralization  of 
the  workers  under  the  pressure  of  routine  industry, 
If  these  fail,  the  future  progress  of  the  wage-earn- 
ing class  will  indeed  be  slow;  and  the  outlook  for 
planned,  purposeful  and  reasonable  action  whether 
in  the  political  or  the  industrial  field,  on  the  part 
of  the  great  group  of  wage  earners  is  not  bright. 

Approximately  one-fifth  of  our  population  is  for- 
eign-born; and  in  the  industrial  cities  and  section 
of  the  nation  the  percentage  is  much  higher.  A 
large  number  of  the  foreign-born  have  not  been 
naturalized  and  cannot  vote.  The  situation  in  the 
steel  and  iron  town  of  East  Youngstown,  Ohio,  is 
more  or  less  typical  of  our  many  "satellite  cities." 
At  the  time  of  a  serious  labor  disturbance  in  1916, 
East  Youngstown  had  a  population  of  about  10,- 
000,  "of  whom  only  450  were  qualified  voters."  -* 
As  the  percentage  of  the  foreign-born  among  the 
wage  earners  of  the  country  is  larger  than  among 
other  classes,  the  political  strength  of  the  workers, 
organized  and  unorganized,  is  reduced  because  of 
the  large  fraction  of  nonvoters  in  their  ranks.  The 
great  reduction  in  the  fiow  of  immigration  since 
the  war  began  in  1914  makes  this  point  less  per- 
tinent to-day  than  in  the  period  immediately  pre- 
ceding 19 14.    Many  workers  are  of  the  type  known 

"  Fitch,  The  Survey,  January  22,  1916. 


ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ratory  workers.  This  class  is  probably  on 
increase.  The  frequent  change  of  work-place 
often  forces  the  migratory  worker  to  lose  his  vote. 
Promotion  and  political  positions  have  doubtless 
drawn  many  a  labor  leader  from  the  union  fold; 
but  in  the  future  the  efficiency  of  this  method  of 
clamping  down  the  lid  on  labor  agitation  may  be 
questioned.^*  The  opportunities  ojffered  the  aver- 
age American  workingman  to  become  a  small  pro- 
prietor are  surely  insufficient  to  act  longer  as  an 
efficient  check  upon  the  growth  of  class  conscious- 
ness and  of  political  solidarity  among  the  wage 
workers  of  the  nation. 

The  difficulties  confronting  labor  on  the  indus- 
trial field  before  April,  191 7,  were  great;  but  at 
that  time  organized  labor  in  the  United  States 
seemed  definitely  committed  to  struggle  on  that 
field,  using  the  strike,  the  boycott,  etc.  On  the 
political  field,  the  policy  fostered  by  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor  has  not  been  notably  success- 
ful in  gaining  the  ends  desired  by  organized  labor; 
the  establishment  of  a  labor  party  seems  to  offer 
greater  possibilities  for  the  labor  group.  It  also 
seems  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  militant  activi- 
ties of  labor  organizations  will  be  stressed  under 
the  normal  conditions  of  peace  until  a  strong  and 
stable  labor  party  is  organized.  Nevertheless,  in 
the  recent  months  of  national  stress   the   federal 

**  See  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organised 
Labor,  pp.  92-93, 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES      2Tj 

administration  has  recognized  organized  labor  as 
never  before  in  American  history.  "In  every  de- 
partment of  government,"  writes  Professor  Com- 
mons, "that  employs  labor  or  fixes  the  price  that 
manufacturers  shall  charge,  there  is  a  leading  offi- 
cial of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  on  the 
committee  who  has  as  much  power  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  capitalists."  This  may  not  with- 
out reason  be  counted  as  a  vindication  of  the  po- 
litical policy  of  j\Ir.  Gompers  and  the  American 
Federation. 

Since  the  United  States  entered  into  the  strug- 
gle against  Germany,  American  labor  leaders  have 
insistently  demanded  a  voice  in  directing  the  poli- 
cies of  the  nation.  But  this  voice  apparently  means 
little  more  to^  them  than  that  "union  leaders  shall 
sit  on  boards  and  committees,  the  embodiment  and 
visible  sign  of  labor's  power  and  dignity."  For 
example,  President  Gompers,  supported  by  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor,  insisted  that  "wage  earners  ought  to  be  rep- 
resented upon  ever}''  commission  and  committee  con- 
nected with  national  and  state  Councils  of  De- 
fense." English  labor  -^  seems  to  cherish  a  higher 
ideal  as  to  the  part  which  labor  should  play  in  de- 
termining war  policies,  peace  programs  and  recon- 
struction plans.     In  short,  the  ideals  and  policies 

"Organized  labor  in  the  United  States  will  doubtless 
be  profoundly  influenced  by  the  reconstruction  program 
of  English   labor. 


278  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

of  American  labor  leaders  are  shortsighted  and  nar- 
row visioned;  these  are  the  inevitable  products  of 
business  unionism.  These  men  see  always  dangling 
before  their  eyes  the  petty  and  immediate  results 
to  be  gained  by  aggressive  unionism  of  the  strik- 
ing and  bargaining  type.  Immediate  results  in  the 
form  of  higher  wages,  and  place  and  prestige  for 
labor  leaders  obscure  the  demand  of  the  common 
man — the  great  inarticulate  mass  of  workers — for 
fundamental  economic  changes  which  more  far- 
sighted  students  of  social  progress  and  which  alert 
business  men  see  coming  over  the  horizon.^* 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor  is  the  em- 
bodiment of  business  unionism;  and  Samuel  Gom- 
pers,  whose  dominating  principles  in  regard  to 
unionism  were  crystallized  in  the  eighties  and  nine- 
ties of  last  century,  is  the  controlling  force  in  the 
Federation.  Why  has  business  unionism  become 
the  prevailing  type  of  labor  organization  in  the 
United  States?  Why  is  a  man  of  Mr.  Gompers' 
type  able  to  exercise  such  dominating  control  ?  One 
of  the  important  reasons  for  the  characteristics  of 
the  typical  labor  leader  in  the  United  States  un- 
doubtedly grows  out  of  the  great  diversity  found 
in  the  ranks  of  American  labor.  No  labor  leader 
in  any  other  country  is  confronted  by  "a,  working 
class  so  divided  by  race,  language  and  the  preju- 
dices incidental  to  these  divisions" ;  and  in  no  other 

*'See,  for  example,  Gompers,  American  Federationist, 
April,   1918,  pp.  303-305. 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES      279 

country  are  the  basic  industries  so  thoroughly  in- 
tegrated and  under  the  control  of  such  powerful 
corporations.  Success  as  a  labor  leader  means 
ability  to  obtain  for  labor  those  things  which  all 
of  the  discordant  labor  group  desire;  and  the  only 
common  denominator  is  found  in  higher  wages, 
shorter  hours,  better  working  conditions,  jobs  for 
union  men,  and  similar  tangible  and  immediate  re- 
sults. The  backward  position  of  American  labor 
before  the  war  began,  on  the  political  field,  and  its 
unfortunate  narrowness  of  social  vision  may  be 
in  a  large  measure  ascribed  to  conditions  which 
have  been  peculiar  to  the  United  States. 

The  present  trend  in  American  labor  organiza- 
tions is  a  matter  of  great  social  import  to  the  men 
and  women  of  the  United  States.  The  policies  and 
practices  of  organized  labor  obviously  affect  every- 
body within  our  national  boundaries.  The  World 
War  has  disclosed  to  us  the  vital  necessity  of  effi- 
cient and  sufficient  production  of  the  great  primal 
necessities  of  life — food,  clothing,  coal,  building 
materials,  etc.  Organized  labor  may  hinder  or  pro- 
mote production  as  well  as  affect  the  distribution 
of  wealth.  Indeed,  as  the  late  Professor  Hoxie  de- 
clared, "unionism  has  its  finger  in  practically  every 
social  pie  that  is  baking."  ^'^ 

While  the  rights  of  organized  labor  should  be 
given  due  recognition,  neither  unions  nor  associa- 
tions of  employers  can  be  allowed  to  run  amuck. 

"  Trade  Unionism  in  the  United  States,  c.  i. 


28o  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

In  the  critical  time  of  war,  or  during  the  ticklish 
period  of  reconstruction  following  the  War,  the  na- 
tion cannot  countenance  policies  on  the  part  of  la- 
bor or  of  capital  which  unnecessarily  obstruct  in- 
dustrial programs  or  reduce  the  national  dividend. 
The  nation  cannot  afford  to  allow  employers  or  em- 
ployed to  exercise  "the  right  to  commit  unlimited 
sabotage."  The  War  has  made  it  very  clear  that 
no  nation,  no  craft  or  business  group,  as  well  as 
no  individual,  lives  unto  itself.  The  War  taught 
this  and  other  nations  that  in  a  time  of  national 
crisis  individual  and  group  gain  must  be  subordi- 
nated to  the  larger  concept  of  social  welfare, — and 
this  lesson  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  after  the  treaty 
of  peace  is  signed. 

Recent  experiences  with  the  transportation  sys- 
tem and  with  the  distribution  of  coal  and  of  sugar 
in  this  country,  and  the  experiences  of  other  nations 
in  rationing,  make  clear  to  all  who  are  willing  to 
face  facts  the  necessity  for  expert  control  in  the 
interests  of  community  well-being.  These  experi- 
ences prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  many  that  there 
is  a  "social  point  of  view."  ^^  But  to  visualize  clear- 
ly from  the  social  point  of  view  is  difficult  until 
class  lines  and  interest  demarcations  are  blurred 
and  made  somewhat  indistinct  by  a  great  emer- 

"This  social  point  of  view  is  the  unstable  product  of 
present  and  past  interest  groupings  and  institutions.  It  is 
a  resultant  in  the  field  of  social  mechanics.  See  Chapter 
I;  also  Carlton,  History  and  Problems  of  Organized 
Labor,  c.  i. 


RECENT  PRE-WAR  TENDENCIES      281 

gency.  Now  is,  and  for  some  years  in  the  future 
there  will  be,  a  time  of  stress  and  strain.  Now 
is  the  time  to  emphasize  common  interests  and 
social  welfare;  now  is  the  time  to  curb  excessive 
demands  on  the  part  of  any  group  or  interest 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  WAR  AND  AFTER 

The  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the  Great 
World  Struggle  quickly  and  clearly  disclosed  the 
existence  of  certain  inefficient  methods  in  Ameri- 
can industry, — inefficient  methods  which  in  the 
times  of  peace  had  been  seen  indistinctly  or  disre- 
garded with  characteristic  American  optimism. 
Lack  of  harmonious  effort  within  the  nation  soon 
became  painfully  apparent  to  all.  Labor  and  capi- 
tal, farmers  and  middlemen,  manufacturers  and 
consumers,  did  not  exhibit  in  any  marked  degree 
harmonious  and  united  action.  Suddenly  the  im- 
minent danger  of  a  food  scarcity  loomed  ahead. 
Restriction  of  output  whether  by  wage  workers  or 
by  employers  could  be  seen  by  the  average  indi- 
vidual to  menace  the  nation  and  the  successful  issue 
of  the  war;  many  businesses  were  held  to  be  non- 
essential. Face  to  face  with  a  world  crisis  of  un- 
precedented dimensions,  it  could  be  discerned  clear- 
ly that  the  prime  industrial  need  was  an  uninter- 
rupted and  plentiful  flow  of  materials  essential  to 
the  conduct  of  the  war  and  to  the  efficiency  of  the 

282 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  283 

civilian  working  population.  Laissez  faire4sm  was 
quickly  and  unceremoniously  relegated  to  the  scrap 
heap;  industrial  mobilization  became  the  order  of 
the  day.  The  great  third  party — the  public — acting 
through  its  agency,  the  federal  government,  found 
it  necessary,  as  never  before  in  this  country,  to 
intervene  in  industry  and  to  direct  business  af- 
fairs for  the  purpose  of  reducing  friction  and  lost 
motion  in  the  business  world.  Both  labor  and  cap- 
ital, under  the  pressure  of  national  necessity,  ac- 
cepted in  the  main  with  a  commendable  lack  of  re- 
luctance, governmental  mandates  in  regard  to  in- 
dustrial policies. 

Organized  labor  has  been  a  consistent  foe  of  war 
and  militarism.  But  in  the  Great  Struggle  against 
German  autocracy  and  aggression,  the  mass  of 
American  workers,  organized  and  unorganized, 
clearly  saw  that  the  hopes  of  the  wage  earners  were 
centered  on  the  forces  struggling  to  make  "the 
world  safe  for  democracy."  Organized  labor  in 
the  United  States,  with  the  exception  of  certain 
elements  in  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World, 
loyally  supported  the  war  policies  of  the  govern- 
ment. On  March  12,  191 7,  anticipating  our  en- 
trance into  the  war,  a  very  significant  declaration 
was  unanimously  adopted  by  representatives  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  and  of  five  un- 
affiliated national  unions.  It  reads  in  part  as 
follows : 

"We,  the  officers  of  the  National  and  Interna- 


284  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

tional  Trade  Unions  of  America,  in  national  con- 
ference assemblecl  in  the  capital  of  our  nation, 
hereby  pledge  ourselves  in  peace  and  in  war,  in 
stress  and  in  storm,  to  stand  unreservedly  by  the 
standards  of  liberty  and  the  safety  and  preserva- 
tion of  the  institutions  and  ideals  of  our  Republic. 
In  this  solemn  hour  of  our  nation's  life,  it  is  our 
earnest  hope  that  our  Republic  may  be  safeguarded 
in  its  unswerving  desire  for  peace;  that  our  people 
may  be  spared  the  horrors  and  the  burdens  of  war; 
that  they  may  have  the  opportunity  to  cultivate  and 
develop  the  arts  of  peace,  human  brotherhood  and 
a  higher  civilization.  But  if,  despite  all  our  endeav- 
ors and  hopes,  our  country  should  be  drawn  into 
the  maelstrom  of  the  European  conflict,  we,  with 
these  ideals  of  liberty  and  justice  herein  declared 
as  the  indispensable  basis  for  national  policies,  offer 
our  services  to  our  country  in  every  field  of  activ- 
ity to  defend,  safeguard,  and  preserve  the  Republic 
of  the  United  States  of  America  against  its  ene- 
mies whomsoever  they  may  be,  and  we  call  upon 
our  fellow  workers  and  fellow  citizens  in  the  holy 
name  of  Labor,  Justice,  Freedom  and  Humanity,  to 
devotedly  and  patriotically  give  like  service."  Presi- 
dent Gompers  of  the  American  Federation  of  La- 
bor, other  labor  leaders  and  the  great  rank  and  file 
of  organized  labor  have,  with  few  exceptions,  faith- 
fully lived  up  to  this  patriotic  declaration. 

Strikes  were  not  entirely  eliminated  during  the 
War;  and  some  workers  were  made  to   feel  the 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  285 

weight  of  public  and  official  sentiment.  But  the  em- 
ployers of  the  nation  were  also  not  entirely  free 
from  insubordination.  After  the  first  year  of  the 
War,  however,  the  decisions  of  the  National  War 
Labor  Board  were  quite  generally  accepted  without 
serious  dissent.  This  Board  was  doubtless  quite 
successful  because  both  labor  and  capital  were  rep- 
resented in  its  membership,  and  because  American 
labor  was  (1918)  convinced  that  President  Wilson 
aimed  to  give  the  workingman  a  square  deal. 

Since  August,  191 4,  organized  labor  in  the 
United  States  has  been  offered  unusual  opportuni- 
ties to  strengthen  its  position;  and  labor  leaders 
have  not  been  slow  to  take  advantage  of  such  op- 
portunities. Immigration,  mixing  nationalities  and 
classes,  has  been  a  potent  factor  in  checking  the 
growth  of  class  consciousness;  and  it  has  furnished 
a  large  supply  of  labor.  But  for  over  five  years 
immigration  has  been  reduced  to  a  very  thin  stream. 
For  months  in  succession  employers  have  com- 
plained of  a  scarcity  of  labor,  and  wages  have  risen 
as  a  consequence.  The  rapidly  rising  cost  of  living 
has  also  acted  as  a  spur  to  aggressiveness  on  the 
part  of  organized  labor.  After  the  United  States 
became  an  active  participant  in  the  War,  the  Fed- 
eral Government  recognized  organized  labor  as 
never  before  in  its  history.  Among  the  important 
guiding  principles  in  the  war  labor  policy  of  the 
government  were  the  following:  The  recognition 
of  the  right  of  the  workers  to  organize  and  to  bar- 


286  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

gain  collectively;  the  recognition  of  the  basic  eight 
hour  day ;  and  the  right  of  the  workers  to  a  living 
wage.  And  these  policies  have  been  applied  to  such 
strongholds  of  anti-unionism  as  the  Chicago  stock- 
yards and  the  Bethlehem  steel  plant.  In  turn,  re- 
striction of  output  on  the  part  of  the  wage  workers 
was  reduced  during  the  War.  The  statistics  of 
coal  production  and  of  rivet  driving  were  illumi- 
nating and  encouraging.  But  this  result  could  not 
have  been  accomplished  under  the  old  form  of  un- 
democratic control  of  industry  by  and  in  the  inter- 
ests of  a  private  corporation. 

American  industries  weathered  the  stress  and 
strain  of  the  war  period.  Large  profits  have  been  re- 
ceived and  unprecedently  large  sums  have  been  paid 
in  the  form  of  taxes.  The  nation  has  spent  enor- 
mous amounts  for  war  purposes.  Surely  clear- 
sighted and  hard-headed  labor  leaders  will  argue 
that  high  wages  may  be  paid  in  a  time  of  peace  or  at 
least  that  reductions  in  wages  will  be  an  unneces- 
sary part  of  the  program  of  readjustment  to  peace- 
ful conditions.  In  short,  American  labor  has 
caught  a  new  and  splendid  vision  of  future  op- 
portunities, and  it  has  made  some  very  tangible 
advances  over  19 14.  The  subordinate  position  in 
the  industrial  world  occupied  by  labor  in  the  pre- 
war decades  will  not  again  be  accepted  gracefully 
or  without  a  bitter  struggle.  Whether  for  good 
or  for  evil  need  not  be  here  discussed;  in  the  judg- 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  287 

ment  of  the  writer,  this  is  the  situation  which  con- 
fronts the  American  people. 

American  workingmen  are  at  present  somewhat 
opposed  to  government  ownership;  they  fear  bu- 
reaucratic control.  The  public  official  has  too  often 
emulated  the  private  employer  in  insisting  upon  low 
wages  and  the  like.  Many  public  officials  have  had 
the  point  of  view  and  the  outlook  of  the  conserva- 
tive and  union-smashing  private  employer.  Again, 
government  ownership  would  spell  standardization; 
and  the  maintenance  of  the  status  quo  is  feared  by 
wage  earners  anxious  to  raise  their  economic  and 
social  level.  Now  is  an  excellent  time  for  employ- 
ers who  wish  to  reduce  the  economic  function  of 
government  after  peace  is  declared,  to  gain  the 
good-will  and  support  of  employees  by  the  sort  of 
scientific  management  which  recognizes  employees 
as  men  rather  than  as  hands.  In  recent  months, 
however,  the  leaders  of  organized  labor  are  begin- 
ning to  discern  the  magnitude  of  the  power  now 
resting  in  the  hands  of  the  government ;  and  active 
participation  in  government  instead  of  opposition 
to  it  may  loom  up  as  the  most  feasible  program 
for  American  labor.  Labor  leaders  are  consider- 
ing plans  for  participating  in  governmental  activi- 
ties. Progress  in  this  direction  will  result  in  a 
change  from  antagonism  to  tolerance  of  govern- 
ment ownership.  The  recent  appointments  by  the 
administration  of  union  leaders  to  responsible  ad- 
ministrative positions  has  given  the  wage  workers 


288  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

a  vision  of  a  government  sympathetic  to  the  hopes 
and  aspirations  of  organized  and  unorganized  la- 
bor. Under  such  a  government,  public  ownership 
would  no  longer  be  feared  by  organized  labor. 

The  labor  policy  of  President  Wilson's  adminis- 
tration during  the  War  promised  to  mark  a  new 
epoch  in  the  history  of  organized  labor  in  America. 
The  administration  virtually  recognized  the  right  of 
organized  labor  to  participate  in  the  political  and  in- 
dustrial affairs  of  the  nation.  There  was  reason  to 
expect  that  organized  labor  would  adjust  its  aims, 
methods  and  structure  to  conform  to  a  new,  strange 
and  encouraging  situation.  But,  unfortunately, 
since  the  armistice  both  organized  labor  and  organ- 
ized capital  have  been  anxious  for  a  trial  of  strength. 
The  long  series  of  strikes  in  1919  culminating  in 
the  steel  and  coal  strikes  are  a  direct  consequence 
of  this  attitude  so  unexpected  in  a  nation  which  has 
been  fighting  to  make  the  "world  safe  for  democ- 
racy." And  the  coal  strike  has  led  to  a  definite  break 
between  organized  labor  and  the  administration  at 
Washington.  The  attitude  of  the  administration  is 
doubtless  expressed  in  the  President's  Message  (De- 
cember, 1919).  "The  right  of  individuals  to  strike  is 
inviolable  and  ought  not  to  be  interfered  with  by 
any  process  of  government,  but  there  is  a  predomi- 
nant right,  and  that  is  the  right  of  the  government 
to  protect  all  of  its  people  and  to  assert  its  power 
and  majesty  against  the  challenge  of  any  class." 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  a  situation  is  being  created 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  289 

which  will  discredit  the  conservative  labor  leaders 
and  offer  a  fine  opportunity  for  the  agitator  and  the 
emotional  orator.  Unless  some  method  can  be  found 
to  accomplish  the  difficult  task  of  bringing  "a 
genuine  democratization  of  industry  based  upon  the 
full  recognition  of  the  right  of  those  who  work  in 
whatever  rank  to  participate  in  some  organic  way 
in  every  decision  which  directly  affects  their  wel- 
fare," we  in  America  are  indeed  face  to  face  with  a 
period  of  bitter  industrial  struggle  and  of  marked 
industrial  inefficiency.  Now  is  certainly  a  time  in 
which  the  far-sighted  employers  who  are  trying  out 
new  methods  of  industrial  control  and  the  more  con- 
servative and  able  labor  leaders  should  be  brought 
together  along  with  a  group  of  leading  industrial 
engineers  and  economists,  in  a  conference  for  the 
consideration  of  the  present  situation.  But  the  stiff- 
necked  employers  of  labor  who  refuse  to  confer 
with  representatives  of  organized  labor  have  no 
solution  to  offer  an  anxious  nation.  They  are  hope- 
lessly out  of  touch  with  the  present.  The  same  may 
also  be  said  to  those  naive  individuals  who  put  their 
trust  only  in  machine  guns  and  the  military  power. 
Urgent  is  the  need  of  a  cool,  calm  and  intelligent 
consideration  of  the  present  grave  industrial  situa- 
tion. We  need  more  and  better  machinery  for  the 
definite  reorganization  of  industrial  control ;  but  more 
is  needed.  The  preliminary  statement  of  the  Pres- 
ident's Industrial  Conference  puts  this  matter  con- 
cisely :  "Human  fellowship  in  industry  may  be  either 


290  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

an  empty  phrase  or  a  living  fact.  There  is  no  ma^c 
formula.  It  can  be  a  fact  only  if  there  is  continuous 
and  sincere  effort  for  mutual  understanding  and  an 
unfailing  recognition  that  there  is  a  community  of 
interest  between  employer  and  employee."  The 
dawning  of  a  new  era  may  be  marked  by  the  use  of  the 
shop  committee,  the  Whitley  councils,  the  Interna- 
tional Harvester  company's  councils,  the  Hart, 
Schaffner  and  Marx  plan,  the  plans  of  several  Cleve- 
land firms,  the  Filene  store  plan,  the  U.  S.  Arsenal 
plan,  and  the  much-attacked  Plumb  plan. 

The  after-war  problems  may  for  the  present  pur- 
pose be  studied  :  ( i )  From  the  point  of  view  of 
national  efficiency  in  production,  and  (2)  from  that 
of  world  peace  and  international  comity  among  na- 
tions under  a  democratic  form  of  government.  The 
War  has  forced  upon  England,  France,  Germany 
and  other  warring  European  countries  a  well-de- 
fined national  outlook.  The  individual  and  his  per- 
sonal business  plans  have  been  subordinated  to  so- 
cial or  national  aims  and  control  as  never  before  in 
the  history  of  modem  nations  and  of  modern  busi- 
ness. iVmerica  entered  the  War  late;  and  the  full 
force  of  war  readjustments  was  not  upon  us  before 
the  latter  months  of  191 8.  Furthermore,  Ameri- 
can business  men  and  Americans  generally  have 
been  extremely  impatient  of  governmental  or  social 
control  and  interference.  Business  anarchy,  waste- 
fulness and  rule-of-thumb  methods  have  prevailed 
to  an  alarming  degree.    But  in  the  fierce  after-war 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  291 

competition  for  markets  which  is  certain  to  follow 
the  treaty  of  peace,  American  business  men  are  to 
face  as  competitors  nationally  regulated  and  di- 
rected business  organizations.  They  are  to  con- 
front the  competition  of  war-chastened  and  war- 
welded  nations  whose  business  efficiency  is  a  by- 
product of  war  necessity.  Another  big  peace  prob- 
lem will  be  the  replacement  of  the  enormous 
amount  of  wealth  which  has  been  destroyed  in  this 
gigantic  struggle.  The  urgent  need  of  replacing 
the  wastes  and  of  again  putting  behind  us  the  spec- 
ter of  famine  and  of  fuel  scarcity  will  lead  to  a 
more  insistent  demand  than  ever  before  made  in 
times  of  peace  for  the  highest  pitch  of  efficiency  in 
all  kinds  of  industrial  activity. 

After  the  War  is  ended,  therefore,  one  of  the 
prime  necessities  will  be  the  continued  efficiency 
of  our  industrial  organization.  The  relation  of 
labor  to  capital  will  be  a  matter  of  paramount  im- 
portance to  national  security  and  national  progress. 
The  nation  cannot  afford  in  the  post-bellum  era  to 
allow  quarrels  between  employers  and  employees 
to  reduce  productivity.  The  common  weal  will 
require  the  employer,  the  investor  and  the  land- 
owner to  forego  unusual  profits  and  income;  and 
the  worker  should  do  "his  bit."  The  efficient  mobi- 
lization of  labor  and  capital  requires  industrial 
peace;  and  industrial  peace  can  come  only  through 
mutual  concessions  under  the  direction  of  public 
authority.     A  big  after-the-war  problem  will  be: 


292  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

How  may  industrial  peace  be  assured  in  the  years 
directly  succeeding  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of 
peace? 

The  vices  of  American  individualistic  and  "profit- 
eering" economy  which  have  been  so  clearly  dis- 
closed since  the  United  States  entered  the  Great 
Struggle  find  their  most  extreme  and  discouraging 
expression  in  the  treatment  of  the  wage  workers  of 
the  nation,  in  the  extreme  subordination  of  labor 
to  capital.  And  in  the  past,  history  clearly  points 
out,  wars  and  their  aftermaths  have  often  lined  the 
pocketbooks  of  certain  prominent  groups  of  citi- 
zens; but  the  workers  have  ever  borne  extra  bur- 
dens. With  the  facts  of  history  before  us,  it  fol- 
lows that  industrial  peace  or  industrial  warfare  in 
the  period  immediately  following  the  treaty  of 
peace  depends  in  no  small  measure  upon  the  wil- 
lingness or  unwillingness  of  employers  to  accept 
the  new  status  of  the  labor  group.  If  employers 
continue  to  refuse  to  "recognize"  labor  organiza- 
tions, if  they  insist  upon  dictating  the  terms  of  em- 
ployment without  consultation  with  representatives 
of  their  employees,  and  if  they  insist  upon  "Prus- 
sianism"  in  industry,  the  struggle  will  be  on  in  un- 
precedented fury.  Industrial  peace  cannot  be  ex- 
pected so  long  as  "there  is  no  strong  sense  of  part- 
nership between  capital  and  labor";  it  cannot  be 
anticipated  until  labor  and  capital  cease  to  be  sus- 
picious of  each  other. 

Far-sighted    American   employers   are   studying" 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  293 

the  situation  carefully;  but  unfortunately  many  em- 
ployers are  not  far-sighted.  The  situation  is  full 
of  menace.  In  the  interests  of  national  security 
and  of  national  betterment,  it  should  be  pointed  out, 
in  spite  of  criticism  for  so  doing,  that  those  who 
propose  again  to  assert  with  firmness  the  old  tra- 
ditional rights  of  the  employer,  or  who  wish  by 
force  to  sit  on  the  lid,  are  playing  with  dynamite. 
If,  with  the  return  of  peace,  a  definite  and  united 
attempt  to  put  organized  labor  "in  its  place"  is 
made  by  certain  great  associations  of  employers, 
if  this  large  and  powerful  group  dominates  the  situ- 
ation after  the  treaty  of  peace  is  signed,  and  if  the 
federal  government  be  in  sympathy  with  this  group, 
prepare  for  a  social  upheaval  of  unprecedented  mag- 
nitude. On  the  other  hand,  if  the  government  is  in 
sympathy  with  the  aspirations  of  the  labor  group, 
an  era  of  democratization  in  industry  may 
reasonably  be  anticipated.  Industrial  peace  and  in- 
dustrial efficiency  under  private  ownership  can  only 
be  expected,  if  the  reasoning  herein  presented  is 
valid,  in  case  labor  and  capital  bury  the  hatchet 
and  earnestly  try  to  understand  each  other. 

Every  enlargement  of  personal  freedom  has  been 
vigorously  opposed  by  those  in  power.  It  was  re- 
peatedly urged  that  the  abolition  of  slavery  would 
strike  a  hard  blow  at  the  foundations  of  human 
society  and  at  the  fundamentals  of  civilization. 
Similar  statements  were  made  in  regard  to  the 
downfall   of   serfdom,   the  abolition  of   imprison- 


294  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

ment  for  debt,  and  the  elimination  of  peonage.  But 
in  every  case  enlargement  of  the  rights  of  the  "un- 
blessed"— the  under-dogs — has  resulted  in  better- 
ment. The  same  opposition  is  now  being  manifest- 
ed toward  any  step  which  means  the  admission  of 
the  worker  into  the  councils  of  industry.  And, 
judging  from  past  history,  we  may  well  believe 
that  the  results  will  not  be  so  calamitous  as  the  op- 
ponents of  such  a  step  assert. 

The  background  of  experience  for  the  average 
factory  worker,  and  particularly  for  the  typical  mi- 
gratory worker,  is  such  as  to  lead  him  to  under- 
value many  of  the  ideals  which  the  middle  class  man 
of  this  country  esteems  highly.  Absence  of  busi- 
ness experience,  elimination  of  responsibility  for 
the  success  of  the  industry,  the  lack  or  the  emas- 
culation of  family  life,  and  a  growing  suspicion  of 
persons  in  other  walks  of  life,  all  contribute  to  give 
the  working  man  a  point  of  view  which  is  making 
more  and  more  wage  earners  menaces  to  the  pres- 
ent industrial  and  social  order.  On  the  other  hand, 
scientific  management  and  welfare  work  are  too 
often  the  results  purely  and  solely  of  the  employer's 
activity  and  desires.  His  attitude  and  the  point  of 
view  of  his  welfare  workers  are  by  no  means  the 
same  as  those  of  the  employees.  In  fact,  the  per- 
sonal equations  and  social  reactions  of  the  two 
groups  are  very  different. 

Too  many  welfare  workers  have  the  traditional 
middle  class  point  of  view.     They  feel  that  their 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  295 

ideas  are  far  superior  to  those  of  the  workers;  they 
wish  to  direct  or  "mother"  the  employees.  Unfor- 
tunately, to  many  the  worker  is  still  a  "hand"  in- 
stead of  a  human  being  with  the  likes  and  dislikes, 
the  ambitions  and  the  prejudices,  the  desire  for 
self-expression  and  personal  choice,  which  are  at- 
tributed to  the  business  and  professional  man  of  the 
middle  class.  Naturally,  this  attitude  is  especially 
g-alling  and  distasteful  to  a  group  which  is  rising 
out  of  ages  of  subjection  and  subordination  into  a 
position  of  greater  power  and  influence.  The 
worker  asks  for  respect  as  well  as  for  higher  wages 
and  a  shorter  working  day.  The  welfare  worker 
or  the  scientific  management  expert  who  never  loses 
consciousness  of  his  social  and  intellectual  superi- 
ority to  the  wage  worker  is  certain  to  arouse  an- 
tagonism and  to  prove  a  failure  sooner  or  later. 

"Human  engineering"  is  a  form  of  activity  which 
needs  to  be  introduced  into  every  work-place.  De- 
cent and  humane  treatment  of  workers  in  shop, 
mine  and  store  will  make  for  multiplied  productiv- 
ity and  for  industrial  peace.  The  old-fashioned 
slave-driving  type  of  employer  is  out  of  date;  and 
not  only  out  of  date,  but  he  is  inefficient  as  a  busi- 
ness manager.  Considered  from  a  business  point 
of  view,  a  man,  a  worker,  is  much  more  complex 
than  a  machine.  Not  only  is  the  worker  more  com- 
plex on  the  physical  side,  but  he  possesses  an  in- 
tricate psychical  mechanism  which  is  lacking  in  the 
case  of  a  machine.     He  requires  more  careful  and 


296  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

intelligent  care  and  treatment  than  do  machines. 
But  much  less  attention  has  been  paid  to  this  more 
complex  form  of  scientific  management  than  to 
such  simpler  matters  as  the  routing  of  materials 
or  cutting  speeds.  We  do  not  know,  for  example, 
how  far  standardization  and  monotony  of  work 
may  be  carried  without  having  the  gain  overbal- 
anced by  loss  of  efficiency. 

The  "human  engineer's"  function  should  be  to 
restore  as  far  as  possible  the  personal  element  to 
industry,  to  make  it  possible  for  employers  to  gain 
an  inkling  of  the  problems  and  the  aspirations  of 
their  employees;  and  for  employees  to  come  into 
touch  with  some  of  the  problems  which  the  business 
man  must  solve.  Perhaps  the  best  example  of  hu- 
man engineering  in  the  United  States  is  found  in 
William  Filene's  Sons  Company's  store,  located  in 
Boston.  The  recent  steps  taken  by  the  group  of 
employers  constituting  the  Western  Pine  Associa- 
tion in  dealing  with  the  acute  labor  situation  in  the 
lumber  industry  of  the  Northwest,  is  indicative  of 
real  industrial  statesmanship.  This  industry  now 
gives  promise  of  contributing  to  the  scientific  study 
of  the  human  side  of  production.  In  striking  and 
unfavorable  contrast  stands  the  arbitrary,  foolish 
and  illegal  action  of  the  copper  interests  at  Bisbee, 
Arizona.  The  deportations  from  Bisbee  were  a 
source  of  widespread  irritation  and  unrest  among 
the  rank  and  file  of  American  wage  workers,  at  a 
time  of  extraordinary  stress,  at  a  time  when  it  was 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  297 

especially  desirable  that  amicable  relations  between 
labor  and  capital  be  maintained.  It  will  be  many 
months  before  the  unrest  and  suspicions  engen- 
dered by  this  act  of  industrial  "Prussianism"  are 
dissipated.  Scientific  human  engineering  rests  upon 
the  foundation  of  psychology  and  social  psychol- 
ogy. It  reckons  with  human  nature  as  it  is,  not  as 
the  social  worker  or  the  moralist  holds  it  should 
be;  it  investigates  the  under-the-surface  causes  of 
industrial  unrest  and  industrial  warfare.  To  make 
industry  "safe  for  democracy"  is  one  of  the  chief 
functions  of  human  engineering. 

The  economics  of  the  post  war  period  will  re- 
volve around  the  problems  of  scientifically  direct- 
ing human  effort  into  channels  which  make  for  na- 
tional and  for  international  or  world  efficiency. 
The  avoidance  of  world  scarcity  and  the  return  to 
a  condition  of  relative  plenty  depend  upon  an  extra- 
ordinary socialization  of  effort.  In  the  United 
States,  unionists,  farmers,  manufacturers,  transpor- 
tation agencies,  merchants  and  professional  groups 
may  expect  to  experience  more  of  social  and  gov- 
ernmental compulsion  than  in  the  past.  Students 
of  social  problems  should  place  more  stress  upon 
the  necessity  of  community  and  national  organi- 
zation in  order  to  bring  about  advances  in  efficiency 
in  producing  and  marketing.  The  group  whether 
it  be  composed  of  workingmen,  capitalists  or  oth- 
ers which  obstinately  stands  in  the  way  of  social 
efficiency,  should  in  the  interest  of  community  well- 


298  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

being  be  made  to  feel  the  weight  of  the  disapproval 
of  the  general  public. 

Labor's  familiar  inclination  toward  restriction 
of  output  and  the  enterpriser's  interest  in  the  value 
rather  than  in  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  output 
of  his  establishment  are  especially  exasperating  in 
times  of  national  danger.  Slackers  there  are  in  all 
social  groups.  The  case  of  the  slacker  in  the  mid- 
dle and  well-to-do  classes  having  a  rich  "back- 
ground of  social  satisfactions"  is  certainly  more 
difficult  to  understand  and  to  condone  than  that  of 
one  in  the  wage-earning  group. 

Army  officers  direct  groups  of  men  for  the  pur- 
poses of  war  without  significant  appeal  to  the 
money  motive.  Soldiers  receive  a  standardized 
wage  or  payment — the  same  within  each  grade  from 
the  lowest  private  to  the  highest  officer,  the  same 
whether  on  the  field  of  action,  in  the  barracks  or 
in  the  hospital,  the  same  whether  the  soldier  be 
more  or  less  efficient.  Nevertheless,  the  typical 
American  soldier  is  alert,  energetic  and  efficient. 
But,  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  the  labor  of  the  sol- 
dier is  not  "exploited"  for  private  gain.  It  is  not 
utilized  by  a  profit-making  organization.  American 
soldiers  have  willingly  left  home  and  family,  and 
have  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  fight  on  the  soil  of 
France  without  the  goad  of  gain.  Under  stress  of 
national  danger,  the  familiar  economic  urge  is  sub- 
merged under  a  flood  of  motives  which  are  both 
primitive  and  deep-seated.     A  big  problem  which 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  299 

the  people  of  the  United  States  and  of  other  nations 
ought  now — to-day — to  tackle  is  the  utilization  of 
these  motives  in  peaceful  times.  Is  it  not  possible 
— yes,  feasible — to  lead  our  captains  of  industry 
to  efficiency  by  the  lure  of  other  incentives  than 
that  of  the  ''almighty  dollar"?  Are  higher  wages, 
premium  plans  and  cash  bonuses  the  only  potent 
instrumentalities  to  prod  workingmen  to  do  their 
best?  Can  scientific  management  learn  no  lessons 
from  the  battlefields  of  Europe?  Are  the  business 
men,  the  professional  men  and  the  wage  earners 
all  men  of  single-track  motives?  Can  the  effective 
incentives  in  times  of  peace  always  be  boiled  down 
to  one?  The  famous  "moral  equivalent"  of  war  is 
a  challenge  to  a  study  of  incentives.  In  peace,  from 
a  study  of  war  time  incentives,  can  we  find  an  ef- 
fective incentive  or  a  variety  of  incentives  which 
will  drive  or  induce  a  man  to  do  his  best  whether  he 
be  a  manual  or  a  mental  worker,  an  organizer  of  an 
industry  or  an  unskilled  worker  in  the  ranks? 

The  only  sort  of  remedial  action  or  disciplinary 
measure  for  which  there  is  any  reasonable  ground 
to  anticipate  success  is  that  which  is  based  upon  tlie 
results  of  scientific  and  painstaking  study  of  group 
ideals  and  policies.  And  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  such  a  study  is  beset  by  an  unusual  number  of 
obstacles  in  the  form  of  prejudices,  class  bias,  pre- 
conceptions, personal  interests,  traditions,  customs 
and  presumptions  in  favor  of  that  which  is  familiar 
or  established  or  in  favor  of  that  which  is  new  and 


300  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

unorthodox.  But  the  need  for  the  social  engineer 
is  even  greater  than  the  difficulties  in  his  path. 

Labor  organizations  are  here,  and  here  to  stay; 
but  unfortunately  some  business  and  professional 
men  cannot  read  the  signs  of  the  times.  Like  the 
king  of  olden  times  they  are  futilely  trying  to  keep 
back  the  tide.  If  organized  labor  is  a  fairly  perma- 
nent industrial  institution,  the  labor  problem  is  not 
one  of  smashing  unions  but  of  working  with  them. 
Peaceful  collective  bargaining  with  responsible 
unions,  as  in  the  coal  mining  ^  and  the  stove  mold- 
ing industry,  offers  an  encouraging  tentative  solu- 
tion for  certain  of  the  serious  labor  problems  of 
the  after-war  period.  A  labor  organization  evolved 
under  adverse  conditions  and  in  an  environment  of 
bitter  antagonism  will  of  necessity  be  militant, 
aggressive  and  difficult  to  deal  with;  but  mellowed 
by  experience  with  kinder  treatment  and  definite 
recognition,  the  characteristics  of  unionism  will  be 
greatly  modified.  But  whether  employers  do  or  do 
not  agree  with  the  conclusions  reached,  labor  in  the 
United  States  is  now  too  strong  industrially  and 
politically  to  accept  without  a  long  and  bitter  strug- 
gle the  time-worn  policy  of  repression  and  exclusion 
from  the  councils  of  industry. 

While  loyally  supporting  the  war  program  of 
the  administration,  organized  labor  has  been  look- 
ing anxiously  forward  to  the  difficult  time  of  re- 
construction after  the  treaty  of  peace  is  signed. 

'  Up  to  November  i,  1919. 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  301 

Labor  wishes  to  preserve,  consolidate  and  enlarge 
the  gains  made  during  the  months  of  war.  To  the 
leaders  of  conservative  organized  labor  democracy 
means  industrial  as  well  as  political  democracy.  It 
means  that  labor  shall  have  a  voice  in  determining 
the  conditions  under  which  the  wage  worker  earns 
his  living.  If,  during  a  war,  collective  bargain- 
ing and  shop  committees  of  workers  are  desirable 
or  appropriate,  organized  labor  holds  that  the  pre- 
sumption is  favorable  to  the  use  of  these  methods 
after  the  war  is  over.  To  insure  holding  the  ground 
gained,  strong  labor  organizations  are  considered 
essential  by  American  labor  leaders.  "Trade- 
unionism  aims  to  secure  for  the  wage  earners  the 
same  rights  and  liberties  in  industry  which  political 
institutions  accomplish  for  them  as  citizens.  .  .  . 
Through  its  industrial  organizations,  the  trade  un- 
ions, it  [labor]  has  the  only  method  of  action  which 
has  proved  successful  when  applied."  ^ 

With  some  exceptions,  the  American  labor  organ- 
ization is  narrow  gauge  and  militant ;  its  aims,  ideals 
and  structure  show  distinctly  the  handiwork  of  op- 
position placed  against  the  drab  background  of  so- 
cial and  industrial  inferiority.  Help  or  advice  in 
regard  to  union  action  from  outside  the  wage-earn- 
ing group  is  conidered  to  be  inimical  if  it  tends  to 
lessen  the  dependency  of  the  worker  upon  his  union 
and  upon  the  leaders  of  organized  labor.    It  is  clear 

'Editorial,  International  Molder's  Journal,  October, 
IQ18. 


302  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

that  this  is,  and  has  been  for  some  years,  the  attitude 
of  union  men  in  America ;  and  as  long  as  large  and 
powerful  groups  of  employers  actively  oppose  labor 
organizations,  it  requires  an  unusual  degree  of  op- 
timism to  anticipate  any  perceptible  modifications. 

What  part,  then,  is  labor  likely  to  play  in  the 
crucial  period  following  the  end  of  the  Great  Com- 
bat? The  United  States  and  all  the  other  warring 
nations  have  been  transformed  by  the  War  in  a 
revolutionary  manner,  economically,  politically  and 
financially.  No  nation  is  going  back  to  a  pre-war 
basis;  the  clock  of  industrial  progress  cannot  be 
turned  back  for  a  new  start.  After-war  reconstruc- 
tion problems  involve  the  answer  to  the  question  of 
whether  the  pendulum  shall  swing  back  or  still 
further  forward.  And,  if  back,  how  far?  If 
further  along  the  present  arc,  how  much  further? 
The  coal  regulations,  the  sugar  restrictions,  the 
wheatless  and  meatless  days,  the  regulation  of 
prices,  the  selective  draft  and  work  or  fight  orders, 
all  are  efficient  aids  in  giving  the  wage  workers  the 
idea  that  they  are  vitally  interested  in  economic  and 
political  affairs. 

Labor  is  numerically  an  important  faction  of  the 
citizenship  of  the  nation ;  its  attitude  toward  recon- 
struction programs  is  a  vital  matter  not  only  to  the 
United  States  but  to  the  entire  world.  Will  Amer- 
ican labor  quite  generally  adopt  and  vigorously  sup- 
port a  broad  program  of  reconstruction  which  will 
place  it  in  the  ranks  alongside  British  labor  and  the 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  303 

liberals  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  allied  coun- 
tries, or  will  it  continue  to  concern  itself  almost 
solely  with  the  immediate  and  narrow  gauge  policy 
of  wages  and  hours,  of  collective  bargaining  and 
shop  committees?  Will  American  labor  continue 
to  look  with  suspicion  upon  the  activities  of  social 
workers  and  of  the  liberals  outside  the  ranks  of  the 
manual  workers,  or  will  it  see  its  way  clear  to  join 
hands  with  these  elements  in  the  political  field? 
Upon  the  answer  which  the  next  few  months  bring 
much  depends.  The  industrial  struggles  precipitated 
in  the  steel  and  coal  industries  in  the  autumn  of 
1919  will  probably  aid  in  pushing  radical  labor  lead- 
ers to  the  front.  The  situation  will  tend  to  make 
difficult  any  union  between  labor  and  the  liberals. 
But  imless  labor  and  the  liberals — intellectuals — 
work  together  harmoniously  on  the  political  field,  the 
conservatives  are  cjuite  certain  to  win  in  the  recon- 
struction period.  Such  a  victory  would  mean  that 
again  the  nation  shall  think  in  national  rather  than 
in  world  terms,  in  terms  of  profits  and  values  in- 
stead of  supplies  and  service,  in  terms  of  national 
jealousy  and  rivalry  rather  than  of  alliances, 
cooperation  and  mutual  aid;  it  would  mean  that  the 
world  will  not  be  safe  for  democracy.  The  hope  of 
a  league  of  nations  and  of  permanent  world  peace 
depends  in  no  small  measure  upon  the  union  of 
labor  and  the  liberals  upon  a  program  which  will  re- 
duce the  causes  of  international  friction,  and  make 


304  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

for  political  and  industrial  democracy  and  for  the 
abolition  of  special  privilege. 

The  American  nation  was  definitely  committed 
during  the  War  to  world  peace  and  democracy;  its 
face  was  sternly  set  against  autocracy,  military 
rivalry  and  secret  diplomacy.  These  ideals  are  all 
approved  and  cherished  by  the  wage  workers  and  the 
liberals  of  all  groups.  In  the  words  of  another, 
"after  the  procuring  of  bread  the  preservation  of 
peace  has  come  more  and  more  to  the  worker  to 
seem  his  primary  interest."  But,  if  after  the  sword 
is  laid  aside  American  labor  is  forced  to  make  a 
bitter  fight  to  retain  the  advances  gained  during  the 
war  period,  toward  collective  bargaining  and  in- 
dustrial democracy,  it  may  be  expected,  as  has  been 
indicated,  to  stress  militant  activities  and  to  con- 
tinue the  short-visioned  ''business"  policies  which 
were  so  ardently  and  ably  advocated  by  the  leaders 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  in  the  years 
immediately  preceding  191 7.  If  labor  is  again 
obliged  to  devote  its  strength  in  fighting  strong 
and  aggressive  associations  of  anti-union  employers, 
it  can  of  necessity  pay  little  attention  to  the  bigger, 
but  more  impersonal,  problems  of  world  peace  and 
democracy.  "The  procuring  of  bread"  will  have 
first  place;  and  rightly  or  wrongly  the  recognition 
of  unionism  is  considered  to  be  essential  to  securing 
bread  or  at  least  to  securing  bread  "with  jam"  upon 
it.  If,  however,  the  general  recognition  accorded 
by  the  American  government  of  the  right  of  col- 


THE  WAR  AND  AFTER  305 

lective  bargaining  is  continued  after  the  govern- 
mental pressure  is  removed,  the  miHtant  activities 
of  labor  organizations  will  become  less  prominent 
and  more  emphasis  upon  political  and  broad-gauge 
policies  may  be  anticipated. 

If  this  interpretation  of  the  after-war  situation 
is  fairly  accurate,  matters  of  vital  import,  not  only 
to  American  industries  and  prosperity  but  also  to 
world  politics,  hinge  (i)  upon  the  willingness  on 
the  part  of  the  leaders  in  large  industries,  who  have 
hitherto  been  anti-union,  to  accept  in  the  after-war 
era  the  new  status  of  unionism  which  the  War  has 
brought  into  being,  or  (2)  upon  the  continuation  of 
the  policy  of  governmental  interference  which  will 
accomplish  practicalb'-  the  same  result.  But  before 
a  year  had  passed  after  the  fighting  ceased,  the  great 
steel  industry  was  struggling  against  the  recognition 
of  unions,  and  the  government  had  taken  "the  har- 
ness off"  industry.  However,  after  the  coal  strike 
began  the  government,  in  a  bungling  manner,  at- 
tempted to  replace  a  portion  of  the  harness  upon 
the  coal  industry.  In  December,  19 19,  the  outlook 
for  industrial  peace  was  far  from  bright.  Industrial 
chaos  seemed  to  lie  just  ahead. 

The  American  people  of  all  types  and  interests 
will  do  well  to  keep  in  mind,  in  the  trying  days  of 
political  and  economic  reconstruction  which  lie  just 
ahead,  the  practical  test  which  President  Wilson 
has  so  forcefully  recommended  in  regard  to  the  ac- 
ceptability   of    every    proposed    program.     "Is    it 


3o6  ORGANIZED  LABOR 

just?  Is  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  average  man, 
without  influence  or  privilege?  Does  it  embody 
in  real  fact  the  highest  conception  of  social  justice 
and  of  right  dealing  without  respect  of  person 
or  class  or  particular  interest?"  The  United 
States  entered  into  the  War  and  fought  under  the 
dominance  of  lofty  ideals  of  world  betterment.  One 
great  problem,  one  which  involves  active  and  sacri- 
ficial effort,  is  to  carry  these  fine  ideals  triumphantly 
into  the  period  of  peace  and  of  reconstruction  upon 
the  threshold  of  which  the  world  is  standing.  De- 
mocracy to-day  is  not  a  mere  individualistic  and 
negative  concept ;  it  demands  united  and  purposeful 
action;  it  requires  the  best  efforts  of  all  to  make  it 
a  potent  force  for  world  brotherhood  and  interna- 
tional amity.  Democracy  has  won  a  military  vic- 
tory over  the  foe  without;  the  next  test  is  that  of 
winning  a  victory  in  the  days  of  peace  over  the  foe 
within  the  nation. 


INDEX 


Abolition  movement,  144. 

Adamson  law,  261. 

Administration  of  labor 
laws,  attitude  of  labor 
toward,  135-142,  253, 
257;  attitude  of  social 
workers  toward,  140. 

Administrative  work,  la- 
bor men  in,  136,  289. 

Alliance  world,  3. 

Amalgamation,  240,  245, 
248. 

American  Federation  of 
Labor,  see  Federation. 

Anarchy,  48 ;  anarchist 
episode,  38. 

Associatons,  anti-union, 
133,  219,  271,  293,  304. 

Bacon's  RebelHon,  16. 

Beard,  Professor,  50. 

Bellamy's  Looking  Back- 
ward, 38. 

Blacklist,  26. 

Blackmar,  Professor,  158. 

Boarding-houses,  com- 
pany, 25. 

Buck  Stove  and  Range 
case,  132. 


Capital,  relations  between 
labor  and,  205,  250, 
257,  289,  291,  292,  295, 
296. 

Carey,   Mathew,   23,   24, 

25- 
Child  labor,  124,  260. 
Clayton  Act,  133,  134. 
Colonial  government,   17. 
Colonist,  American,  15. 
Commission  on  Industrial 

Relations,  71,  105,  255, 

271,  272. 
Commons,  Professor,  138, 

204,  279. 
Communism,      American, 

159- 

Confederation,  Articles 
of,  48,  49,  50,  56,  81. 

Congress,  National  La- 
bor, 100,  lOI. 

Constitution,      American, 

50.  51,  52,  53.  54.  55. 
57,  82,  134;  interpreta- 
tion of,  54,  55. 

Constitutional  Conven- 
tion, 49,  53. 

Convict  labor,  124,  260. 

Cooperation,  160,  161. 


307 


3o8 


INDEX 


Corruption,  political,  38, 
171,  200,  220. 

Debt,  imprisonment  for, 
46,  47,  109,  122,  164- 
168,  172,  175. 

Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, 45,  46,  48,  57»  156. 

Democracy  and  organized 
labor,  9,  303  ;  industrial, 
131 »  301.  304;  Jackson- 
ian,  see  Jacksonian  de- 
mocracy ;  of  to-day, 
306. 

Discontent,  see  unrest. 

Education,  commercial- 
ization of,  73 ;  free,  65, 
66,  (iT,  69,  70,  76,  85, 
87,  108,  109;  in  early 
New  England,  62,  63; 
vocational,  73,  74. 

Educational  ideals,  72, 
109,  172,  173;  projects, 
new,  70. 

Eight-hour  law,  121,  252. 

Election  of  1856,  146, 
147;  of  i860,  146,  149; 
of  1840,  163. 

Ely,  Professor,  40. 

Employer,  the  modern, 
207. 

Employers'  Association, 
21,  22,  see,  also,  asso- 
ciations, anti-union. 


Epochs  in  industrial  de- 
velopment, 14. 

Evans,  G.  H.,  86,  88,  89, 
92,  99,  170. 

Expert  in  social  legisla- 
tion, 141. 

Factories,  early  Ameri- 
can, 25. 

Federation  of  Labor, 
American,  13,  34,  4i» 
7o»  73.  75. 105,  106, 107, 
127,  183,  184,  185.  222, 
224,  225,  227,  228,  232, 
235,  242,  243,  244,  245, 
247,  248,  252,  257,  260, 
261,  266,  269,  2^6,  277, 
278,  283,  284,  288,  304 ; 
membership  of,  230; 
structure  of,  231,  238, 
288;  future  of,  234, 
236. 

Federation  of  Labor,  pan- 
American,  224. 

Federation  of  Labor,  pur- 
pose of  State,  123. 

Federation  of  Teachers, 
American,  75. 

Frey,  J.  P.,  134,  260. 

Frontier  in  American  his- 
tory-, 10,  28,  29,  35,  60, 
129,  193. 

George,  Henry,  38,  8r, 
102,  103,  104,  105,  181, 
187. 


INDEX 


309 


Gompers,  Samuel,  13,  75, 
132,  182,  184,  185,  222, 
224,  255,  258,  259,  261, 
263,  264,  277,  278,  284. 

Government  ownership, 
attitude  of  labor  to- 
ward, 264,  287. 

Greeley,  Horace,  93,  94, 
96,  99,  154,  163,  186. 

Greenback  Party,  see 
Party. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  56, 

57;   Hamiltonian   point 

of  view,  131. 
Harrison,  W.  H  ,  61. 
Hatters'    case,    Danbury, 

132,  .218. 
Health  insurance,  263, 

264. 
History,  trug,  i,  3. 
Homestead   Act,    83,    84, 

96,   98,    146;    free,   29, 

88,  99,  108. 
Hours  of  labor,  legislation 

regarding,  no. 
Human  engineering,  295- 

297- 
Humanitarianism,28,  114, 
167,  170,  173,  191,  201, 

253. 

Ideals,  American,  203, 

286,  301,  304,  306. 
Immigration,   118,   119, 


123,  145,  275,  285  ;  Chi- 
nese, 126,  127,  182; 
Commission,  127. 

Incentives  to  work,  208, 
212,  213,  298,  299. 

Industrial  Congress,  the, 
90. 

Industrial  Union,  Work- 
ers' International,   189, 

191.  . 
Industrial  unionism,  227, 

22>Z,  237,  248. 

Industrial  Workers  of  the 
World,  41,  189,  190, 
191,  217,  227,  228,  230, 
236,  247,  248,  283,  289. 

Inertia,  social,  4,  5. 

Internationalism,  222,  223, 
225,  303. 

Inventions,  effect  of,  195, 
220. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  59,  60, 
86,  113,  259;  Jackson- 
ian  democracy,  17,  42, 
59,  61,  181,  257. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  42,  57, 
64,  95  ;  Jeffersonian  de- 
mocracy, 58,  59. 

Knights    of    the    Golden 

Circle,  155. 
Knights  of  Labor,  34,  37, 

104,     123,     153,     160, 

181. 


310 

Labor,  American  Federa- 
tion of,  see  Federation 
of  Labor. 

Labor  and  capital,  rela- 
tions between,  see  cap- 
ital. 

Land  grants,  78,  79,  99, 
100,  179. 

Land,  influence  of  free,  7, 
164;  ownership  of,  79, 
80,  81,  94,  172. 

Land  sales,  79,  81,  82,  83, 
87,  89,  93 ;  speculation, 
opposition  to,  78,  91, 
loi ;  survey,  81. 

Lawyers,  dislike  of,  168. 

League  of  Nations,  225, 
303- 

League,  Non-Partisan, 
267. 

Legislation,  American  As- 
sociation for  Agricul- 
tural, 107;  for  Labor, 
263. 

Legislation,  attitude  to- 
ward, 253-265,  268. 

Liberty,  interpretation  of, 

55,  58. 
Loyalty  to  employer,  209. 
Luther,  Seth,  22. 

Mangold,  Dr.  G.  B.,  163. 
Marshall,  John,  55. 
Masquerier,  Lewis,  92,  94, 
95,  96,  99- 


INDEX 


Migratory  workers,  see 
workers. 

Militarism,  attitude  of 
workers  toward,  222. 

Mitchel  administration, 
142,  143,  257. 

Mitchell,  John,  32,  132, 
136. 

Moore,  Ely,  186. 

Municipal  ownership,  op- 
position to,  264. 

Negroes,  148,  149,  155, 
156,  245. 

Owen,  R.  D.,  66,  69,  85, 
88,  159,  170,  173,  174. 

Panic    of    1837,    20;    of 

1873,  34,  36. 
Party,  British  Labor,  302 ; 
Democratic,  189; 
Greenback,  180,  181 ; 
Republican,  189,  a  non- 
slavery  extension,  148, 
150,  origin  of,  98;  Na- 
tional, 196;  Progres- 
sive, 196,  197;  Sociahst, 
106,  107,  183,  187,  188, 
191 ;  Socialist  Labor, 
128,  183,  187,  188,  191 ; 
Workingmen's,  84,  92, 
159,  169,  171,  173,  174, 
175,  178,  180,  301,  302, 


INDEX 


311 


opportunity  of,  269, 
302. 

Paternalism,  27,  131  ;  atti- 
tude toward,  252,  253. 

Peace,  world,  303,  304, 
306. 

Petitions   for   legislation, 

114,  115. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  154, 
179,  180. 

Policies  of  labor  organ- 
izations, 183,  184. 

Political  weakness  of  or- 
ganized labor,  251. 

Politics,  labor  men  in,  137, 
138,  172,  177,  182,  185, 
276. 

Powderly,  T.  V.,  136,  153. 

Preparedness.  222. 

Prices,  rise  of,  21,  41,  87, 

115,  181,  2S5. 
Printers,  union  of,  18,  19. 
Progress,  human,  2,  294. 
Progressive       movement, 

42,  191,  194,  195. 

Prohibition,  attitude  of  la- 
bor toward,  134. 

Prosperity,  effect  on  or- 
ganized labor,  12. 

Puritans,  oligarchy  of,  16, 
64,  109. 

Reconstruction  problems, 
142,  290,  293,  300,  304, 
305- 


Reform  movements, 
American,  9,  30,  39, 
214,  221. 

Reformation,  the  coun- 
ter-, 40. 

Reformers,  National,  89, 
92,  176. 

Resources,  human,  206. 

Revolution,  condition  at 
close  of,  46,  47. 

Revolutionary  period,  17, 

45- 
Riots,  anti-draft,  155. 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  195. 
Routine,    effect    of,    211, 

217,  246,  273,  274,  275. 

Scientific  management, 
246,  254,  256,  271,  274, 
294,  295  ;  larger  aspects 
of,  297,  299. 

Seamen's  Act,  125. 

Shays'  Rebellion,  47,  50. 

Shoemakers'  union,  18, 
58. 

Skidmore,  Thomas,  84, 
85,  159,  170,  172,  173, 
174,  186. 

Slavery,  extension  of,  145, 
146,  148. 

Social  service,  attitude  to- 
ward, 253,  255,  258, 
294,  301. 

Socialism,  state,  129. 

Socialist,   Congress,    128; 


312 


INDEX 


Labor  Party,  see  party ; 

officeholders,  i88. 
Socialists,  attitude  of,  132. 
Stewards,  shop,  244. 
Stores,  company,  26,  37. 
Strike,  farmers',  266. 
Strikes,  21,  25,  35,  36,  38, 

217. 
Suffrage,  extension  of,  60, 

156-159,  161,  169;  man- 
hood, 59,  157. 
Sweated  industries,  24. 
Svlvis,   W.    H.,   32,    152, 

178. 
Syndicalism,      189,     216, 

228. 

Tammany  Hall,  167,  171, 

173- 
Tariff,     protective,     161, 

164. 
Tax,  single,  102,  105,  106, 

107. 
Teachers,  organization  of, 

75- 
Trades'  Union,  National, 

21,  112,  176,  186. 

Tuckerman,  Joseph,  24. 

Union,  National  Labor, 
100,  loi,  120,  122,  160, 
176,  177,  178,  180. 

Union,  National  Trades, 
see  Trades'  Union. 

Unrest,  21,  27,  30,  36,  39, 


41,  47,  48,  64,  65,  174, 
220,  221,  228,  250. 

Unskilled  workers,  see 
workers. 

Utopias,  varieties  of,  8. 

Van     Buren,     President, 

113.  171- 
Vote,  labor,  59. 

Wage  legislation,  mini- 
mum, 131,  132. 

Wages,  32,  36;  before 
Civil  War,  30;  wo- 
men's, 23,  30. 

War,  Civil,  31,  32,  33,  35, 
38,  70,  99,  153,  155, 
176,  187;  attitude  of 
workers    toward,     150- 

154. 

War,  the  Great,  42,  43, 
130,  204,  211,  218;  at- 
titude of  workers  to- 
ward, 223,  283,  289; 
effect  of,  226,  276,  279, 
280,  282,  285. 

War  Labor  Board,  Na- 
tional, 142.  285. 

Welfare  legislation,  130, 
252. 

Weyl,  Walter,  46. 

W^ilson,  President,  270, 
288,  305. 

Wilson,  W.  B.,  136, 
185. 


INDEX 


3^3 


Wisconsin,  University  of, 

71- 
Women's  movement,  first, 

158;  Trade  Union 
League,  158. 
W^orkers,  migratory,  207, 
229,    245 ;    attitude    to- 
v^-ard  unskilled,  267 ;  or- 


ganization of  unskilled, 
246:  of  the  World,  In- 
dustrial, see  Industrial 
Workers. 

Workmanship,  instinct  of, 
212. 

Wright,  Frances,  158, 
170. 


(I) 


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